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SANGSAD BHABAN, Sept 6, 2026 (BSS) - Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today said that the government is taking steps to simplify the country's tax system and increase transparency to remove the taxpayers' fear about tax assessment.

Replying to a supplementary question from opposition lawmaker Md. Abdul Alim (Bagerhat-4) in the House, Khosru acknowledged that there is a general fear among people that filing a tax return, particularly a revised return, could lead to an audit and subsequent harassment.

"It is certainly true that there is a fear of coming under the tax net in the country," the minister said.

Khosru said the government has taken several initiatives to simplify the tax system so that people can come forward willingly to pay taxes.

"The fear exists for various reasons. That is why people do not want to come under the tax net," he said, adding that the government has already started working on simplifying the overall taxation process.

Responding to the lawmaker's concern about audit-related harassment, the minister said the audit issue represents only one of several barriers faced by taxpayers.

The minister said the government is now moving towards a bifurcation within the National Board of Revenue (NBR), separating tax policy formulation from tax administration and implementation.

"We are first moving towards bifurcation of the tax system-those who will formulate tax laws and policies and those who will implement them," he said.

He described the separation as an important reform, saying it would reduce opportunities for corruption and undue influence in the tax administration.

"This was a major area of opportunity for corruption, and this influence will be reduced to a great extent through the separation," the minister said.

Khosru also said the government is seeking to establish greater transparency in tax administration so that taxpayers can pay taxes without fear or unnecessary complications.

"We are trying to bring complete transparency into the implementation process so that every taxpayer can come forward easily to pay taxes," he said.

The minister noted that Bangladesh's tax-to-GDP ratio remains very low and said the country has fallen behind because efforts to improve the situation did not continue adequately in the past.

"Our tax-to-GDP ratio is very low. Bangladesh has fallen far behind because these efforts did not continue in the past," he said.

He stressed that simplifying the tax system would encourage more people to enter the tax net.

"The more we simplify the system, the more people will come forward," the minister said.

He said the government is working to address not only audit-related concerns but also other problems that discourage taxpayers from complying with tax requirements.

"We are working to simplify the system by addressing all these problems together. Inshallah, you will see the results very soon," he said.