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.
Finance ministers don’t possess crystal balls to captivate the audience with mystical allure. They don’t have magical foresight. They are real-world agents of economic policy. In times of crisis, which often repeats itself in modern capitalism, they chart a path out of the dark abyss. Sometimes they prove to be successful, sometimes not.
The budget for the upcoming fiscal year, presented in the context of inordinately complex economic circumstances, reflects both the government’s restraint and limitations.
The proposed budget for 2024-25 lacks creativity and offers no solutions to the many complex challenges facing the country’s economy, economists have said.
Backtracking on its promise to eliminate black money, the government has once again made room to allow both individuals and companies to whiten money without facing scrutiny and by paying a 15 percent tax, a move that drew sharp criticism from economists and civil society.
In its first proposed budget after assuming power for a fourth consecutive term, the Awami League government skirted round some of the promises the party made in its election manifesto for the January 7 parliamentary polls.
Budget at a glance
Under the FY24-25 social safety net programme of Bangladesh, the pension for retired government employees and savings scheme interest payments account for nearly the same allocation as social assistance for the poor, the old and the disaster-struck.
Default loans in the banking sector of Bangladesh hit an all-time high of Tk 182,295 crore, but no reform programme to reduce it has been announced in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
In yet another blow to stock market investors, the government plans to impose a capital gains tax on them from next fiscal year.
The food ministry spent less in fiscal 2022-2023 compared to fiscal 2009-2010, according to data on expenditure over the last 13 years.