As an average millennial, what does the budget really mean to you? Terms, technicalities and jargon from the 343 chapters of the proposed budget are enough to send an average desk jockey into a tortuous-fuelled death spiral of confusion. This is why most reluctant millennials with no savings, or the capability to afford to own a home, remain unfazed by such fiscal highlights of the year. Unless, it disrupts the few pleasures they have in life.
The health sector was yet again neglected in the national budget, with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal earmarking around Tk 36,864 crore -- 5.43 percent of the total budget -- for the sector.
If one looks at the inflationary measures that are proposed in the FY2022-23 budget, there are ample reasons to be frustrated.
From the next fiscal year, the tax authority is going to introduce a provision of disconnecting utility services of taxpayers for their failure to pay undisputed revenue demand of the government.
The prices of specialised wheelchair for the physically challenged may fall in the next fiscal year as the finance minister today proposed abolishing all kinds of taxes at the import stage of the item.
According to the budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, it has been proposed that Tk 1,917 crore will be allocated for the ICT Division.
The government proposed keeping the import duty for capital machinery unchanged at 1 per cent for the small and medium industries to give a boost to the sector.
While most consumer electronic products will see an increase in their prices, a few consumer electronics are expected to have reduced prices after the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2022-2023.
The government is set to withdraw a 5 per cent advance tax on the import of gold in the fiscal year of 2022-23 to encourage the import of the precious metal through formal channels and discourage smuggling.
The number of risks that our economy currently faces because of all the global instabilities is perhaps unmatched since the early days of Bangladesh’s independence. Amid this reality, the government is set to present the new budget early next month.
When it comes to human development related expenses, the government should spend more.
The government has set an ambitious economic growth target of 7.5 per cent for the next fiscal year although the country faces new headwinds owing to higher prices of commodities globally and is still recovering from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic.
The upcoming national budget for 2022-23 should focus on creating jobs and controlling inflation for the survival of the marginalised people, said Debapriya Bhattacharya, convener of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh.