Matia slams finance minister for increasing tax on family savings certificate

Senior Awami League leader Matia Chowdhury today lambasted Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal for increasing tax on family savings certificate from five per cent to 10 per cent in the proposed budget for 2019-20 fiscal.

Taking part in the discussion on the budget, Matia said, "I would like to talk about a sensitive issue which I can't support. I can't understand why did he [finance minister] increase the tax on the family savings certificate scheme from 5 per cent to 10 per cent?"

Stating that savings certificate is a scheme of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, she said from helpless widow to insolvent women of the rural areas depend on earnings from the savings certificates.

"Why did he (Finance Minister) interfere in it when he's giving various benefits to businessmen, increasing the salaries and benefits of government employees and teachers and also giving various facilities to different sectors? I can't understand why've you touched your hands in the savings certificates?"  Matia said.

Although the finance minister is keeping the scope for whitening the black money, he is not increasing the ceiling on buying savings certificates, Matia also a former agriculture minister said.

She urged the finance minister to withdraw the proposal for increasing tax on family savings certificate scheme.

Matia, also a presidium member of the ruling Awami League, sought the Prime Minister's special attention in withdrawing the finance minister's proposal in the budget.

Matia, however, presented various statistics about how the government achieved outstanding successes in different sectors and economic development over the last 10 years.