Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed :
Every year the budget comes, the budget goes. Budget should speak to the good of the common people.
Budget must reflect the interest of the have-nots, education for all, to reduce discrimination of the poor and the rich. If the poor become poorer with the systematic problem of the budget, the soundness of the budget will be lost.
Again the budget will lose its dignity and identity of glamour. Benefit must go to the court of commoners. Budget must have its vision. It must widen the quality of lives. General livelihood might be enhanced. It can’t be invisible.
It must not be kept in papers or limited to four walls. It must be made target oriented with group of skilled manpower and experts. Its implementation must be made honest and transparent with good leadership, coordination and planning.
Like every year, the budget is forecast with aims to promote growth rate, equal distribution of wealth, to reduce money inflation, poverty alleviation, income generation, employment creation etc.
But our budget is very much traditional. No structural or reformative change is yet to be exercised and taken place. To make the budget pro-people, it is to be decentralized.
For example, in every district one crop bank may be established. For farmers, there may be the provision of crop insurance, special allocation for the down-trodden people and the disaster victim people.
The lifestyle of the tribal people may be upgraded by special grants through the budget. To upgrade the marginal farmers, there remains the necessity of subsidies for agricultural inputs.
The Finance Minister deserved commendation for formulating an optimistic-looking budget at a very difficult economic scenario which is threatening to worsen. FY22 Budget came during centenary celebration of the Father of the Nation and in the Golden Jubilee hallmark of the precious independence.
Establishment of the cherished welfare state as envisioned by Bangabandhu and as strongly espoused by the exceptionally dedicated, able, gusty and globally well regarded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina seem to have struck a chord in the budget statement.
A national budget contains a philosophy and the context of the budgetary disparity in income, wealth and opportunity in Bangladesh. The budget could enhance its usefulness by a strategic ‘growth with equity’ focus.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the need for a robust fiscal framework has been felt much more than before.
Higher revenue mobilization and judicious higher expenditure are tough objectives to be met within a system that is not strong enough to implement these and withstand obstructions in the way.
Policymakers should not lose sight of reforms of the tax system and public institutions while designing the budget for the recovery. Capacity development of human resources and application of technology have to be a part of the reform measures.
On the expenditure side, the growth in government expenditure will have to take the inflationary pressure into account. Hence, the budget deficit will need to be lowered slightly than that of the previous budget, which is set at 6.2 percent of GDP.
Traditionally, it is targeted at five percent. In view of the need for higher public expenditures during the pandemic, it may be set at 5.5 percent of GDP in FY2022-23.
Whenever the budget is discussed, the first issue that comes to everyone’s mind is taxation. The budget is about mobilization of resources through various ways, the most important of which is tax on people’s income.
This resource, in turn, is used mainly for development, providing various services to citizens, and the salaries of government employees. Governments mostly depend on resources from their citizens — be it tax, bank borrowing, or sales of national savings certificates. They receive support from abroad at times.
They also take loans from international sources. Given the important role of tax in financing economic activities of the government, its efficient collection and utilization cannot be overemphasized.
We want to reiterate that our efforts and endeavors in ensuring professionalism, transparency and accountability will be tireless. We once again vow to uphold ethical values at any cost.
Accountancy projects a clear picture on a country’s fiscal activities and assists in ensuring corporate good governance. Accountancy is essential for banks, insurance companies, securities, dealers and others who need them.
As trade and commerce of the country increases, so does the responsibility of the accountants. In the financial sector of our country, ICAB has a major role to play.
Rightly so, the institute is proactive in creating awareness, generating ideas and thoughts, promoting transparency and accountability not only in its own area but also in overall economic affairs of the country.
We believe we have been able to bond good ties with all related Government, autonomous or regulatory bodies.
Finally, we can say that the budget is nothing but a statement of yearly expenditure and income. Budget preparation is not such a difficult task. But its implementation is a challenging factor.
Every year we see many remarkable comments about the budget. Such as: Is the budget for the poor, is the budget for the rich and what are the pondering points of the budget? How is the budget to be classified and so all?
Through the criticism and discussion, an ideal budget is finally placed before the state through which all the state functionaries are managed. However, the budget speaks for all the people of the country.
Specifically, the budget should focus on poverty alleviation. However, budgets of some consecutive years are highlighting employment generation and entrepreneurship. Above all, the budget should be made clean and transparent, well supervised and well monitored.
(The author is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar and VDP; columnist and researcher.)