Make dev visible for tax payment
Speakers tell Chittagong conference
People must see the developments carried out by the local governments and the availability of public services so that they can be encouraged into paying taxes, said speakers at a conference yesterday.
The conference was organised by Centre for Urban Studies (CUS) to shed light on its project, “Strengthening Democracy, Local Governance: An Investigation into the Roles and Authorities of Local Governments in Bangladesh”.
Local government representatives, researchers and civil society members took part in the conference at Brac Learning Centre in Chittagong city.
Under the project, public representatives of 450 union councils, 100 upazila councils and 50 municipalities will be trained on their duties, rights and effective management techniques, said the project's Chief of Party Jerom Sayer.
“We are focusing on three areas -- financial management and increasing revenue collection, participatory planning and budget and service delivery and monitoring,” he said.
Urban residents will also be imparted knowledge on ways they could help strengthen the local governments, said the project's Deputy Chief of Party Prof Dr Zarina Rahman Khan.
The union parishad, upazila parishad and municipality acts formed in 2009, though better than the previous ones, have some inconsistencies which must be revised, she added.
Singra municipality Mayor Shamim Al Razi said, “What the central government allocates for the local government does not even cover the salary of the staff.”
Shamim, also the secretary general of Municipal Association of Bangladesh, said once people see the use of the taxes, they will come forward to pay up in due time.
Feni municipality Mayor Nizam Uddin Hazari said he collected 98 percent of the taxes of his municipality in the last fiscal year.
This was achieved by holding up different services like providing nationality certificates and trade licenses till the individual cleared up the due taxes. Sometimes they also reduced the due taxes of government organisations, he said.
Some public representatives think that imposing taxes reduces their popularity. “I do not believe so,” he said, adding that as soon as the taxes come in, the local governments must quickly concentrate on rendering the services.
Some residents of newly formed municipalities, who were under union parishads, are to still to understand the practice of paying taxes, said Bakerganj municipality Mayor Lokman Hossain. “Paying tax is a matter of habit.”
Cox's Bazar municipality acting mayor Raj Bihari Das demanded resuming tax collection on electric poles. “The Power Development Board is making profits. It should also pay taxes,” he said.
CUS team leader Prof Nazrul Islam demonstrated the project summary.
Chhagalnaya municipality Mayor Md Alamgir, architects Zarina Hossain and Salma Shafi, Prof Dr Abu Tayab of Geography department of Chittagong University, former Jahangirnagar University vice chancellor Prof Amirul Islam Chowdhury and Engineer Ali Ashraf also spoke at the programme.
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