Standard Islami Bank PLC. awarded “Maximum Income TAX Payer Organization”

Standard Islami Bank PLC. has been awarded as “Maximum Income TAX Payer Organization” for the TAX- years 2012-13 and 2013-14 consecutively. Managing Director and CEO of SB Mr. Md. Nazmus Salehin receives the award from Finance Minister Mr. Abul Maal Abdul Muhith in presence of Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, FBCCI President and Chairman of Standard Islami Bank PLC. & Golam Hussain, the then Chairman of NBR. Finance Minister AMA Muhith presented crests to top taxpayers at a ceremony organized by the National Board of Revenue at Pan Pacific Sonargaon, Dhaka. Golam Hussain, the then chairman of NBR, and Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, were also present. The National Board of Revenue honored 402 top and long-term taxpayers amid calls for a harassment-free atmosphere and accountability of taxmen to boost the tax receipts. “We want to pay tax but we need the right environment for that,” Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, President of the FBCCI & Chairman of SB. He said many people shy away from paying tax fearing they might be harassed for giving lower taxes the next year due to a drop in their income.“You will get increasing amounts of tax if you have a service-providing mentality. Please hire taxmen who will have that mentality,” said Ahmed, also the chairman of Standard Islami Bank, which received a tax card for sealing a spot among the top 10 taxpaying companies nationally for fiscal 2012-13 and 2013-14. Finance Minister AMA Muhith handed out the tax cards to 20 individuals and 20 companies that paid the highest amount of taxes to the state coffers in fiscal 2012-13 and 2013-14, at an event at the capital's Pan Pacific Sonargaon. Outside Dhaka, 362 taxpayers from 64 districts and nine city corporations in two categories -- long-time and highest -- were awarded. Felicitation of the top taxpayers was part of the Income Tax Day agenda, observed by the NBR across the country to create awareness and motivate people to pay tax for financing the state expenses. The NBR, which has been observing the day since 2008, organized rallies in divisional cities to mark the day. “It is a matter of pride to be a top taxpayer. I feel good and hope that there will be competition for the recognition,” the Standard Islami Bank chairman said, adding that it is everyone's moral obligation to pay tax if they have taxable incomes. Muhith said harassment in tax collection and fear of paying tax still prevail, although efforts are ongoing to reduce taxpayers' hassles.