The parliament today passed the Tk 7,97,000 crore national budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year with the aim of achieving 6.75 percent GDP growth rate and keeping annual inflation at around six percent
But extra duty and tax on telecom, carbonated beverages, water purifiers to hurt potential FDI, it said.
In Bangladesh, the power generation capacity increased to 30,277 megawatts in 2023-24 from 4,942 MW in 2009, said Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in his budget speech.
Textile millers and garment makers in Bangladesh yesterday demanded that the government include some of their recommendations in the new national budget as many of the issues they raised remain unaddressed.
More than a third of the subsidies allocated in the new budget is for the power sector due to what experts say is the huge spending on capacity charges.
What is a progressive tax system? Well, it means that the income tax rate climbs up as the income increases. But that still doesn't mean that the raised income tax rate will apply for the entirety of someone's income
It fails to commit to reforms and address people’s sufferings
Economists say allocation for the agriculture sector in the new budget is inadequate, and it will not only hurt farmers but may also affect food production.
Implementation of the new budget will be highly challenging in the current context of the Bangladesh economy, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) said in a post-budget reaction yesterday.
The food ministry spent less in fiscal 2022-2023 compared to fiscal 2009-2010, according to data on expenditure over the last 13 years.
The government has slightly reduced the allocations for transport and power and energy compared to the outgoing fiscal year.
The tax measures unveiled yesterday for 2024-25 are not going to provide any relief to taxpayers.
While the cost of living remains high, with the inflation rate hovering at over 9 percent throughout the year, no ray of hope came for the common people in the budget declared yesterday. This is upsetting for the low and middle-income groups of society.
The government has hiked the supplementary duty on mobile top-ups alongside VAT on SIM cards, pushing up costs that will be incurred by mobile and internet users, which will inevitably put a financial strain on access to essential services.
The budget for fiscal 2024-25 proposes a total expenditure of Tk 797,000 crore with a total tax revenue of Tk 541,000 crore, resulting in a deficit of Tk 256,000 crore.
The new budget for the upcoming fiscal year is unlikely to provide respite from one of the longest spells of sustained inflation in Bangladesh as the government’s measures appear to be missing the impetus required to contain the price spiral.
The proposed national budget for FY25 has remained a widely speculated topic for the people of this country. Bangladesh has been navigating a precarious global economy over the last 24 months, and the economic aftereffects of Covid-19 and the Ukraine-Russia have not only complicated macroeconomic management but created widespread concerns across both domestic and international actors.
Budget FY25 What does it mean for you?
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday termed the proposed national budget “anti-Bangladesh”, saying it contains new schemes to facilitate the embezzlement of public money by the ruling party-backed looters.