Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said the government assumed responsibility for running the country amid a fragile economy and wants to build a taxpayer-friendly revenue structure. Speaking as chief guest at Revenue Conference 2026 at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital on Tuesday, he said the National Board of Revenue must become an institution of trust rather than fear. He urged NBR officials to meet taxpayers’ expectations through efficient and sustainable revenue management.

Rahman said the government opposes relying solely on foreign assistance and burdening future generations with excessive debt. He called for expanding domestic income sources and said the government had adopted a people-oriented production policy to increase investment, trade, industrialisation, incomes, employment and public services. He also said the NBR has an essential role in these areas.

The prime minister said the tax-to-GDP ratio remains below potential, the tax base is narrow and a large part of the economy is informal. He called for simpler, online, corruption- and harassment-free tax procedures and a modern data-based tax administration. He said revenue officers need knowledge of the digital economy, e-commerce, international taxation, financial crime, money laundering, artificial intelligence and data analytics.