Taxation and Governance in Bangladesh: A Study of the Value-added Tax

A growing body of literature considers taxation as a powerful tool for governance and state building. Despite broad supports from historical data, it lacks systematic, case-specific research especially in developing countries. This paper contributes to this critical gap; it investigates the governance of VAT around issues of transparency, accountability, and participation. It shows how various stakeholders in Bangladesh situations have subverted, corrupted, and toned down the VAT to suit their specific interests. Consequently, tax compliance covenant that is at the heart of governance dividend thesis has remained largely elusive. The Bangladesh experience offers useful lessons for other developing countries.