budget 2016-17
Budget 2016-17 / Of Obesity or Good Health?
The Finance Minister has proposed a mega Tk.3.4 trillion budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2016-17. It is about 29 percent higher than the revised budget of the outgoing fiscal year.
Budget Proposal / No one in BNP to give reactions
The BNP that ruled the country for over 10 years in two terms since the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh in 1990 is struggling to come up with formal reactions to the proposed budget for fiscal 2016-17.
Ambitious targets set deliberately
Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said he deliberately set an ambitious revenue generation target in the upcoming budget, hoping for more tax collection by the National Board of Revenue. “I have said in the budget speech that it is deliberately ambitious,” he told reporters at a post-budget briefing in the capital's Osmani Memorial Auditorium.
Private investment biggest challenge
The challenge of attracting private investment remains as daunting as ever, as the proposed budget did not give any clear outline to
Hike in source tax ‘absurd’
The proposed 1.5 percent tax at source on export is 'absurd' and 'abnormal' as such a high rate might hamper the growth of local
Allocation rises for digitisation
The proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year increases investment in digitising government services by 36.01 percent year on year.
Big dream, grim reality
Finance Minister AMA Muhith has really dreamt of a big budget in every respect -- from expenditure to revenue generation. And he no longer wants to live in the 6 percent GDP class to push beyond 7 percent. But his big dream promises to put extra pressure on people across the board, as he plans through his VAT and other tax proposals to extract that extra penny from every pocket.
Focus on fast-track projects
The government has given top priority to eight fast-track mega projects in the upcoming budget, setting aside Tk 18,727 crore for them.
Mobile bills to go up
The cost of using a mobile phone would go up by more than two percent as the proposed budget looks to hike the supplementary duty on SIM usage.
Tobacco tax to benefit multinationals
Multinational tobacco companies will benefit from the proposed budget as the finance minister has not increased the prices of medium and high segment cigarettes.
New jobs to stay elusive
The parameters of employment generation show it would be a tough task for the government in the next fiscal year to create adequate jobs, which is a key element for higher economic growth.
Revenue target very ambitious
While economists have praised the proposed budget's emphasis on mega projects, skill development and job creation, they have termed the revenue generation target very ambitious.
Middle-class hit by tax burden
Ariful Islam has been paying taxes regularly for the last several years on the income from his employment as a banker.
Education gets a big boost
The government broke with its tradition in education by boosting the allocation 32 percent year-on-year to Tk 49,009 crore for the next fiscal year.
Mobile bills to go up
The cost of using a mobile phone would go up by more than two percent as the proposed budget looks to hike the supplementary duty on SIM usage.
Focus on fast-track projects
The government has given top priority to eight fast-track mega projects in the upcoming budget, setting aside Tk 18,727 crore for them.
Big dream, grim reality
Finance Minister AMA Muhith has really dreamt of a big budget in every respect -- from expenditure to revenue generation. And he no longer wants to live in the 6 percent GDP class to push beyond 7 percent. But his big dream promises to put extra pressure on people across the board, as he plans through his VAT and other tax proposals to extract that extra penny from every pocket.
Package VAT doubled for small traders
In face of protests from businessmen, the government has decided not to implement a flat VAT rate for small traders and instead almost doubled the package VAT.
Mobile phone use to get costlier
Cost for mobile phone use will increase in the next fiscal as Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposed to hike the duty on SIM card-related services to 5 percent.