6 performers among top taxpayers

Singers Kumar Bishwajit and Tahsan Khan, actresses Suborna Mustafa and Bidya Sinha Mim secured their spot in the list of top taxpayers prepared by the National Board of Revenue for the tax year 2020-21.

Singer SD Rubel and Babul Ahmed have also been named among the six top taxpaying celebrities as the NBR on Wednesday night released the list comprising of 141 top taxpayers, including 75 individuals.

The Economic Relations Division has published a gazette notification in this regard.

Kaus Mia, the businessman from Old Dhaka known for Hakimpuri Zarda, tops the list of awardees for the second straight year.

Suborna Mustafa, Bidya Sinha Mim and Babul Ahmed have been named in the list under the actor category while Kumar Bishwajit, Tahsan Khan and SD Rubel have been named under the singer category.

The awardees will enjoy special tax cards and various other facilities.

Earlier, in the fiscal year 2019-20, Dhallywood superstar Shakib Khan, Lux Superstar Bidya Sinha Mim, folk sensation Momtaz Begum, actor Raisul Islam Asad and Shaheen Samad were among the celebrities to have been named as the highest taxpayers.

“Definitely, it’s a matter of honour. I always pay taxes on all of my incomes. Paying income tax regularly is a duty of every citizen,” Bidya Sinha Mim, who became the top taxpayer for the second consecutive year, told The Business Post on Thursday.

The actress feels that the inclusion of artistes as top taxpayers is an endorsement that the showbiz world is also like various other sectors of the country where people enter from their hobby in the beginning.

For Tahsan Khan, it is the fifth time that the singer-turned-actor has been named in the list of top taxpaying individuals.

The NBR is set to honour the highest taxpayers on the National VAT Day on December 10. At the district level, 102 companies in three categories will also be honoured as the top VAT payers.