With an aspiration to make Bangladesh’s tax system fair, equitable, transparent and compliant with people’s aspirations, this study was undertaken to understand the country’s overall tax system, its loopholes and potential, so that the advocacy agendas are drawn up on solid research-based knowledge. Through employing an exploratory study methodology based on secondary data and archival resources, the study generates information on seven broader areas: (1) description of the tax system, (2) distribution of the tax burden and progressivity, (3) revenue sufficiency and tax leakages, (4) tax exemptions, (5) effectiveness of the tax administration, (6) government spending, and (7) transparency and accountability. These clusters of topics were selected to best capture the complex character of tax systems in order to evaluate a tax system’s fairness.
This study marks the significance of making the tax system more progressive by establishing a well functioning governance mechanism, enhancing stakeholders’ participation, raising transparency and ensuring that everyone pays their share of taxes.