Bangladesh Budget 2023-24
Flats, houses to be costlier
Flats and houses will become expensive as the government has increased the duties on basic construction materials such as cement, steel and tiles in the proposed budget, said a top executive of a real estate company.
Tax return for credit card to bar financial inclusion
The tax on digital payments tools should be reduced and incentives should be given to encourage electronic payments in a bid to transform the country into a cashless society, said Syed Mohammad Kamal, country manager of Mastercard.
'Cut ADP allocation to contain inflation'
The government should adjust the budget expenses by cutting the allocation under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) and bringing down operating costs in order to contain inflation, said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute.
National Budget 2023-24: Of sweet accounting and sour economics
If we choose only 10 commodities and measure inflation, the figure will land at no less than 20 percent.
Benefit extension for consumer electronics ‘encouraging’
The extension of existing benefits for local consumer electronics industries through the proposed national budget is very encouraging, said Golam Murshed, managing director and chief executive officer of Walton Hi-Tech Industries, yesterday.
Focus on developing waterways in budget
The government’s budget should focus on developing inland waterways with a view to cutting goods transportation costs and reducing pressure on roadways, said the top executive of a logistics and container terminal operations management company.
Bangladesh’s budget deficit in FY24 could be at risk: Fitch Ratings
Bangladesh’s budget deficit forecasted by the government for the next fiscal year could be at risk if the growth undershoots the authorities’ relatively optimistic target, said Fitch Ratings.
No remedy for default loans, forex crisis
Though higher default loans and declining foreign currency reserves have been identified as the biggest risks to the economy of Bangladesh in recent times, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal yesterday fell short of coming up with any definitive measure to address the twin issues save offering some words of hope.
Tax subsidy costs nation Tk 1.78 lakh crore in FY23
The total amount of tax subsidies given in the form of rebates, discounts, exemptions, and reduced rates has been calculated to be at Tk 1,78,241 crore in the outgoing fiscal year 2022-23.
Allocation for education dips
Education ministries got a chop for the next fiscal year as the proposed development allocation for them is lower than the allocation of the outgoing fiscal year.
Healthcare’s slice gets smaller
People may not get any respite from increased healthcare cost as the share of the budget allocation for the health sector has been reduced for next fiscal compared to that of the outgoing year.
Safety Net Allocations: Rise far from enough
Although the size of allocation for social security programmes has enlarged, the government has made no significant changes to cushion the vulnerable groups of people from persistent inflationary pressure.
It’s unrealistic, unattainable
The proposed budget for 2023-24 is unrealistic and unattainable as the challenges that caused the economic growth to decelerate, foreign exchange reserves to dip and inflation to surge in the past one year still persist, said economists and think-tanks.
A smart way to plunder public money: BNP
BNP yesterday described the national budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year as a smart one for plundering public money.
What gets costlier, what gets cheaper
The prices of many products and services are likely to go up owing to the proposed hikes in duties and value added tax in the 2023-24 national budget.
Tax Measures: Relief for rich, burden on low-income people
Rich will get a shot in the arm from the tax measures in the new fiscal year. They may not have to pay any surcharge on their net wealth worth up to Tk 4 crore from the next fiscal year as per the proposed tax measures.