Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Friday urged the country's tax authority not to put too much pressure on the taxpayers who are already paying taxes.
"Earn tax as much as you can from the existing taxpayers but do not hurt them by pressing for taxes," he said.
The finance minister said the government will simplify the existing law to make VAT collection easier.
"The act was complicated, we should make it easier, it needs to be simpler for the taxpayers," he said.
He said these while speaking at an award giving ceremony organised by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on VAT Day.
Nine companies were awarded for paying the highest amount of value-added tax (VAT) in their respective sectors during the 2019-20 fiscal year.
The Finance Minister handed over the awards at the function held at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) Bhaban in the city.
Speaking as the chief guest, he urged all concerned including the business community to engage themselves more in paying taxes including VAT and thus motivate others.
He laid emphasis on creating close relations between VAT collectors and people to increase VAT collection.
He said taxmen should be more engaging to remove fear of business community about tax.
Chaired by NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, the function was addressed by President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md Jashim Uddin as special guest.
The FBCCI chief called for reducing taxes to keep prices of daily commodities stable.
He stressed introducing a system for the service recipients to use the documents of tax payments along with the tax identification number, saying it will help expand tax net.
He also called for reducing tax rates as prices of raw materials have increased manifold on the international market.
The NBR chairman said reducing tax rates and expanding tax net both are important, and NBR is working to this effect.
"We have reduced tax rates in many areas but we couldn't do this at a time, it requires balance," he said.
Aristopharma Ltd, Square Toiletries Limited and Maya Biri Factory were awarded in the manufacturing sector.
On the other hand, SM Motors, AMCO Bajaj International and MABS Union Motors Ltd won accolades in the trading sector.
In the service sector, Edotco Bangladesh Company Ltd, Grey Advertising Bangladesh Limited and Robert Bosch Bangladesh Ltd were honoured.
