“The corporate tax rate is high in comparison to the country’s economy and it should be reduced to keep the economy free from negative impact,” IBFB President Humayun Rashid said at a press conference on budget reaction at the Jatiya Press Club.
“Reduction of the corporate tax rate will lead to the creation of more employment opportunities,” he added.
Humayun said the proposed budget is realistic but there are challenges for implementation.
The rate of budget implementation was 80 percent in 2015-16 fiscal year while 44.41 percent upto March in 2018-19 financial year, he said. “The budget is implemented less in Bangladesh than India, Vietnam and Uganda. The budget was fully implemented in India and Vietnam while 90.3 percent in Uganda in 2015-16 FY,” he added.
The IBFB president said he opposed providing opportunities for whitening black money since it will give a negative message.
“Some conditions should be attached. If the money is used only for creating employment then we can support it. But we can’t support the idea of using black money to buy flats,” he added.
Humayun Rashid said all districts should be equally prioritised in development projects and areas with high poverty rate should get extra attention. “If any district is backward, its people also lag behind and it will affect the development.”
He said the country’s economy will further flourish if confidence can be created in the banking sector through required reforms and ensuring good governance. “An independent bank commission can be formed for this. Besides, a high-powered advisory committee can be formed for review of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) implementation. The review should be done on quarter basis,” Humayun Rashid said.
“We want a balanced budget which will ensure that the middle-class doesn’t face extra pressure,” he said.