“Our goal is to build a poverty-free Bangladesh. We want to ensure equal rights for everyone,” he told a seminar on the ‘Role of Zakat and Tax in Reducing Income Inequalities’ in Dhaka on Saturday.
Center for Zakat Management (CZM) organised the seminar marking the seventh Zakat Fair-2019 at Krishibid Institute Bangladesh.
Zakat is the practice of compulsory giving away of a set portion of one’s wealth every year to benefit the poor.
Mannan said that the Zakat Fair will benefit the country but rued ignorance about the practice.
“We prioritise poverty issue. When we initiate any project, we think about ways the poor can be benefitted,” he said.
Former caretaker adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said that income disparity in Bangladesh is increasing day by day. “It’s a big problem and Zakat can play an important role to solve this,” he said.
“We have to eliminate poverty and need to reduce income disparity for achieving sustainable development,” he said.
Islam said many people evade tax and avoid giving Zakat too.
Justice Mohammad Abdur Rouf, former chief election commissioner, dubbed Zakat a super dynamic economic system.
“Poor people are not properly benefited from tax money. But they are benefited directly by Zakat,” he said.
CZM Chairman Niaz Rahim gave the welcome speech while former chairman of National Board of Revenue Dr Muhammad Abudul Mazid read the keynote paper.
Besides, former secretary AMM Nasir Uddin, Secretary General of EXIM Bank Foundation AKM Nurul Fazal Bulbul, Daffodil International University Chairman Dr Md Sabur Khan, Dhaka University Professor Dr Mahmood Osman Imam, Bangladesh Bank General Manager (Research) Md Abdul Awwal Sarker and National University Associate Professor Dr Mohammad Monzur-E-Elahi, among others, spoke at the programme.