International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) President Humayun Rashid said that the economy of the country is going through a transitional period. I expected a lot of reforms in the budget to implement the goal of Smart Bangladesh. But did not get the guidelines for reform.
He said these things at the discussion meeting titled ‘Budget 2024-25 Expectations and Achievements’ at the organization’s office in Tejgaon on Tuesday (June 11).
Referring to the proposed budget as realistic and implementable, he said that good governance and proper monitoring are needed to face the challenges of budget implementation. It is important to ensure clear direction and planning for continuous improvement of efficiency, transparency, accountability and quality of oversight in budget implementation. Besides, the partnership between the public and private sectors should be strengthened to implement the budget.
Presenting the main article, he said, the inflation target was set at 6.5 percent in the budget. But inflation stood at 9.89 percent in May this year. Achieving this 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.
Stating that the country’s macroeconomic indicators and the revenue collection process are under pressure due to the difficult situation prevailing globally, he said that the total revenue collection target has been set at 5 lakh 41 thousand crores in the proposed budget. The National Board of Revenue’s ‘Tax’ revenue target has been increased as compared to the ‘Other Sector’ (National Board of Revenue Non-Tax and Non-Tax Income) rather reduced. The target pressure on the National Board of Revenue could have been further reduced if the revenue target in these two sectors, receivable from government agencies and corporations, was increased rather than reduced.
In the meeting, the former chairman of NBR and the advisor of the organization. Mohammad Abdul Majeed said the opportunity to legalize undisclosed income will encourage new taxpayers.
SM/MHR/JIM
