, Dec. 10 -- Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Wednesday underscored the urgent need to curb VAT leakage, widen both VAT and income tax coverage, and modernise Bangladesh's tax administration.

"Bangladesh's economic progress depends fundamentally on its ability to mobilise domestic resources rather than relying excessively on foreign loans and grants,"he said at a seminar organised at the Multipurpose Hall of the Revenue Building in the capital to mark VAT Day and VAT Week.

The Adviser stressed that VAT remains one of the most powerful and modern forms of taxation worldwide, yet Bangladesh continues to collect far less VAT as a share of GDP compared to neighbouring countries even though the economy has expanded significantly.

"The...