Highlights:
The government has announced a Tk60,000 crore incentive package to boost production and ease supply-side pressures while stepping up technology-driven monitoring and risk-based audits to curb tax evasion by wealthy individuals and large corporate entities, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament today (12 July).
He said the government will expand taxpayers' databases, strengthen information sharing with government agencies and take strict legal action against deliberate tax evaders to make the tax system more transparent and accountable.
The finance minister also said the government is working in coordination with Bangladesh Bank to contain inflation by keeping the policy interest rate unchanged at 10% and continuing a market-based exchange rate regime.
He made the remarks while responding to separate written questions from MPs Md Fazle Huda of Naogaon-3 and AKM Fazlul Haque Milon of Gazipur-5 during the question-and-answer session on the 23rd sitting of the second and first budget session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad.
The parliamentary session began at 3pm with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad Bir Bikram in the chair.
The finance minister said the government has adopted targeted measures to tackle tax evasion by large corporations and high-income individuals without imposing additional tax burdens on ordinary citizens.
To improve transparency and efficiency in tax collection, the National Board of Revenue is rapidly expanding the e-return system for corporate taxpayers.
The government is also enriching its taxpayer database and integrating information through API-based data exchange with various government agencies.
Amir Khosru said risk-based audits and investigations have been strengthened using industry-specific benchmarks to assess expected revenue from different sectors.
He added that the scope of online withholding tax collection has also been expanded and that strict legal action is being taken against those found to have deliberately evaded taxes.
On inflation, the finance minister said price pressures, which began rising in April 2022, had eased from November 2024 and fell to 8.17% on a point-to-point basis in October 2025 following coordinated government and central bank measures.
However, inflation climbed again to 9.42% in May 2026 because of domestic and global market pressures, he said.
To contain demand-driven inflation, Bangladesh Bank has kept the policy interest rate (repo rate) unchanged at 10% for the first half of FY2026-27.
The minister said the government considers supply constraints to be a major driver of the current inflationary pressure.
To address this, Bangladesh Bank has announced a Tk60,000 crore incentive package to boost production and improve the supply of goods.
Of the total package, Tk41,000 crore will come from excess liquidity held by commercial banks, while the remaining Tk19,000 crore will be provided by Bangladesh Bank from its own resources.
He added that the government would continue its flexible, market-based exchange rate policy to stabilise the US dollar and help contain inflation over the longer term.
inflation / Tax Evaders / Incentive Package / Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury / Parliament
While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.
Copyright © 2026 THE BUSINESS STANDARD
All rights reserved.
