Staff Reporter :
The FY 2024-25 budget was anticipated to include significant reforms, but no such guidelines were provided, Humayun Rashid, President of the International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB), stated on Tuesday.
“The economy of the country is going through a transitional period. I expected more reforms in the budget to implement the goal of Smart Bangladesh.
But I did not get the guidelines for reform,” Rashid remarked during a discussion meeting titled “Budget 2024-25: Expectations and Achievements” held at the IBFB office in Tejgaon.
Rashid emphasized the urgent need for reforms in policy formulation and the revenue collection system to boost the economy.
He called for an increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio, broadening the tax base, enhancing online tax processes, and expanding tax offices to upazilas.
He stressed the necessity of strengthening the partnership between the public and private sectors to effectively implement the budget.
Addressing inflation, Rashid noted the significant challenge of achieving economic targets while reducing the inflation rate.
“Achieving the target by reducing the rate of inflation is a huge challenge. The rise in inflation must be curbed. If not, the pain and suffering of common people will increase,” he said.
Rashid highlighted the pressure on the country’s macroeconomic indicators and the revenue collection process due to the global economic situation.
He criticized the proposed budget for setting a high total revenue collection target of Tk5.41 trillion while reducing non-tax and non-revenue income targets.
“In the proposed budget, the total revenue collection target has been set at 5 lakh 41 thousand crores.
The ‘other sector’ [non-tax and non-revenue income of the National Board of Revenue] has been reduced rather than the ‘tax’ revenue target of the National Board of Revenue being increased,” Rashid said.
He also mentioned that if the revenue targets for government agencies and corporations were increased instead of reduced, it would have eased the pressure on the National Board of Revenue.
During the meeting, former chairman of NBR and advisor of the organization Muhammad Abdul Mazid stated, “In the next fiscal year 2024-25, illegal wealth can be legalized without question by paying 15 percent tax. But if there is an opportunity to whiten black money, common people will not want to become taxpayers again.”