Dhaka, Sept. 1 -- Around 35 per cent of taxpayers in each of the 41 tax zones across the country did not file tax returns in the last fiscal year despite having the taxpayer identification number (TIN).

A gap analysis, conducted by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), has revealed the alarming picture where TIN holders have not been followed up properly by taxmen in most of the tax zones.

The analysis was done following a nominal year-on-year increase, nearly 6.0 per cent, in the number of return filers in FY25.

A persisting gap between the number of TIN holders and return filers is a widely-discussed issue in Bangladesh, which has one of the poorest tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratios - 6.7 per cent - in the world.

In the last...