The Role of Awareness Campaigns in Improving Holding Tax Collection: A Case Study on DSCC

Abstract

This study examines the awareness building process for holding tax collection in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), an important urban local body to serve secondary level of city dwellers of southern part of Dhaka. Holding tax is a key revenue generator for the development and other basic amenities of the city, including sanitation, roads, health and town planning. However, in spite of its importance, DSCC has faced with significant difficulties to realize the collection of holding tax on time, mostly as a result of the unawareness among citizens about the necessity to pay tax and consequences in case they do not pay. The main purpose of the report is to evaluate implementation of DSCC and role in improving tax compliance. The report reviews the effectiveness of such campaigns in enhancing tax payment rates by assessing different public outreach activities, and considers how they can contribute to a sustainable financial model for urban development. This study also seeks to uncover challenges faced by DSCC in undertaking these campaigns and offer recommendations to small fine-tune strategies for more success. Internship enriched the practical knowledge and skills of city administration and finance Some key tasks completed during my internship at DSCC are: Worked with managing tax data, assessing & distributing property taxes bills, supported public educational campaign and provided face-to-face assistance to taxpayers towards clarification of questions. During this training I learned about the operational and strategic sides of collecting taxes and citizen engagement. This report is also informed by a combination of primary and secondary information sources, including direct observations made during the internship, interviews with DSCC staff, surveys upon local taxpayers and extensive reading DSCC internal reports and literature on tax compliance. The results have revealed the importance of enlightenment campaign for closing the information gap, sensitizing of taxpayers and increase in revenue generation. Finally, the report offers with suggestions on improving communication tactics and leveraging technology modes to increase further tax compliance and deepen sense of civic responsibility among its citizens. Overall, this article emphasizes the need for public awareness for increase of holding tax collection and a study about en effective communication strategies that can help in increasing compliance, more revenue generation and contribute financial health of DSCC.