ACC working to identify tax-evading foreigners

FT ONLINE

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Iqbal Mahmud has said that the commission is working to identity the foreigner workers who are evading taxes.

"Actions are not being taken against the tax-evading foreign workers by the concerned authorities, though there is proper legal ground to do so," the anti-graft commission chief made the remark expressing frustration in a programme at BCS Tax Academy today.

In a recent report, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said, the foreigners working in Bangladesh are taking away Tk26,400 crore every year illegally from Bangladesh. Thus, they evade taxes amounting to Tk12,000 crore every year.

At least 2.5 lakh foreigners from 44 countries are working in 21 sectors in the country. Of them, only 9,500 are paying tax regularly.

These foreigners illegally work in various organisations, mostly in readymade garment sector. They don't use proper banking channel to send remittances to their countries. Rather they use hundi, an illegal means of fund transfer.