Nearly 35 per cent of the 2,026 candidates contesting the 13th parliamentary election a total of 707 individuals have no publicly available income tax records, according to data compiled by civil society organisation Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN).
The findings were presented on Saturday at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club, where SHUJAN shared its analysis of financial disclosures submitted by election candidates.
Under election rules, candidates are required to submit proof of filing income tax returns, known as an ACK receipt, along with their nomination papers, although disclosure of spouses’ or children’s tax information is not mandatory.
SHUJAN’s analysis shows that among party-backed candidates, Bangladesh Nationalist Party nominees recorded the highest level of tax compliance, followed by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, while independent candidates ranked third.
Of the 1,319 candidates who paid income tax, 479 or 36.3 per cent paid Tk5,000 or less, while 358 candidates, or 27.1 per cent, paid more than Tk1 lakh, and 116 candidates, or 5.7 per cent, paid over Tk10 lakh. A further 132 candidates submitted only Tax Identification Number certificates without filing returns.
In terms of declared annual income, 832 candidates, around 41 per cent, reported earnings below Tk5 lakh, while 95 candidates declared incomes exceeding Tk1 crore.
Compared with the 12th parliamentary election, the share of candidates earning below Tk5 lakh has fallen slightly from 45 per cent to 41 per cent, while the proportion declaring incomes above Tk1 crore declined more sharply, from 8.77 per cent to 4.59 per cent.
The data also show that 741 candidates earn between Tk5 lakh and Tk25 lakh annually, 132 between Tk25 lakh and Tk50 lakh, and 71 between Tk50 lakh and Tk1 crore. Another 155 candidates did not disclose their income in their affidavits.
Among candidates declaring incomes above Tk1 crore, 51 are Bangladesh Nationalist Party nominees, 25 are independents, and five belong to the Jatiya Party.
SHUJAN also identified the 10 highest-earning candidates, led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party candidate Zakaria Taher of Cumilla-8, who reported an annual income of about Tk60 crore.
Independent candidate Md Asadul Islam of Tangail-1 followed with around Tk40 crore, while Zakir Hossain Patwari of Islami Andolan Bangladesh in Lakshmipur-1 ranked third with nearly Tk19 crore.
Others in the top 10 include Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s Mirza Abbas, with more than Tk9 crore, independent candidate Salauddin Alamgir, with over Tk8 crore, Bangladesh Nationalist Party nominees Salahuddin Ahmed, Md Jasim Uddin, Kaiser Kamal and Redowan Ahmed, and independent candidate Shafikul Islam Rahi, with declared incomes ranging from Tk4 crore to Tk6.5 crore.
SHUJAN said overall income tax compliance has improved since the previous election, rising from 47.3 per cent to 65.1 per cent.
SHUJAN Secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar warned that weak enforcement by the Election Commission could lead to complications and possible legal challenges. “There is a clear requirement to submit income tax returns,” he said.
The written statement at the programme was presented by SHUJAN Central Coordinator Dilip Kumar Sarker, while Treasurer Syed Abu Naser Bakhtiar Ahmed was also present.
