The interim government is planning to revise the national budget for the current fiscal year urgently and cut “wasteful expenditures” in order to alleviate the pressure on the foreign currency reserves and tame persistent inflation.
Lack of proper government actions is costing citizens dearly
It will not reduce capital flight, only encourage malfeasance
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
The government has moved away from its decision to raise the highest income tax rate to 30 percent and end tax holidays for investors in economic zones and hi-tech parks.
It is important to recognise that trade has been the handmaiden of Bangladesh’s development.
The share of the total allocation for spending directly on poverty reduction has come down for the upcoming fiscal year despite persistently higher inflation, deepening the uncertainties of the poor.
Despite widespread condemnation from economists, watchdogs, businesspeople and even multiple lawmakers, the government is expected to retain the amnesty allowing individuals and businesses to whiten black money without scrutiny by paying a 15 percent tax in the upcoming fiscal year.
The proposed budget for fiscal year 2024-25 offered no relief to startups and neglected their long-standing demands, in sharp contrast with the government’s vision for a Smart Bangladesh, where startups are key economic drivers.
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.
The macroeconomic imperative was to tighten the budget, particularly the domestic financing component of the budget deficit.
They blame govt for focusing on imported solutions rather than own resources
Budget admits we are in a crisis, but offers no direction out of it
All government officials who will be recruited after July 1 next year will be incorporated in the universal pension scheme
From The Daily Star Newsroom
