Individual Corruption

According to the Transparency International Bangladesh National Household Survey 2010, out of all household respondents who received tax-related services from tax offices, more than half of them reported to have experienced corruption, harassment and irregularities.

Business Corruption

According to Global Integrity 2010, tax laws are not always enforced uniformly and without discrimination. The same source also reports that the National Board of Revenue, the central authority for tax administration in Bangladesh, is one of the most corrupt government agencies in the country.

The World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2007 reveals that a significant percentage of the surveyed companies stated that they expect to give gifts in meetings with tax inspectors, while a smaller percentage of companies identified tax administration as a major impediment to doing business.

Political Corruption

In September 2007, the wife of the former Minister of Housing and Public Works, Afroza Abbas, was sentenced to 16 years in prison and a BDT 49.2 million fine on charges of tax evasion. She was convicted of concealing information about wealth on tax returns and for providing false information on the returns. In April 2010, Abbas was granted bail by the High Court, as reported in a 2010 article by The Financial Express.

According to a March 2011 news article by The Daily Star, a total of BDT 21,000 crore (a crore equals to BDT ten million) in taxes was evaded by taxpayers in the fiscal year of 2009-2010. According to the article, corrupt practices by tax officials are cited as one of the main challenges facing the National Board of Revenue at the moment.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012:
- Companies are required to make 21 tax payments and spend 302 hours on average at a total tax rate of 26% of profits annually to manage the burden of paying taxes.

Transparency International Bangladesh: National Household Survey - Corruption in the Service Sectors 2010:
- Of all household respondents who received tax-related services from tax offices, 51.3% reported that they had experienced corruption, harassment and irregularities.

- The average sum of a bribe paid to the tax and customs departments was BDT 6,734.

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2007:
- 30% of companies surveyed consider tax administration to represent a major constraint to doing business.

- 86% of companies expect to give gifts in meetings with tax inspectors.