United News of Bangladesh

Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya on Saturday said as there are no significant initiatives for recovering defaulted loans, bringing back laundered money, or expanding the tax net there’s no real surprise in the proposed budget. Recovering embezzled money, laundered funds and defaulted loans during the previous regime could serve as an innovative source of revenue in the upcoming national budget, he said. He made the remark while speaking at a pre-budget shadow parliament session organised by Debate for Democracy at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC). The upcoming budget seems to follow a conventional path with little scope for newness, he said. Debapriya highlighted both the achievements and challenges of the current government’s economic management. He said the government’s major success in recent times has been reducing the pressure of foreign debt by repaying $5 billion, which had been steadily increasing year after year under the previous government. Speakers call for urgent action on economic corridor to unlock growth potential “The immediate past government left the country in a precarious situation with heavy foreign debt,” he said. Debapriya praised the current government’s efforts in managing the external sector, including remittance inflows, export earnings, debt servicing, reserve accumulation, and exchange rate stability. Criticising the existing development projects, he said that many are overvalued and nearly 40 percent of the expenditures are fictitious. “The projects responsible for financial outflow in the past continue unabated,” he added. Debapriya also stressed the need for proper management of revenue expenditure to build trust among taxpayers. “Our tax system remains inequitable,” he said, adding that while some macroeconomic stability has been achieved in the external sector, private sector investment and domestic economic stability are still far from satisfactory.” Debate for Democracy Chairman Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron presided over the session.

The parliament passed the Tk 7,61,785 crore national budget for FY 2023-24 -- with the goal of achieving 7.5 percent GDP growth rate and keeping annual inflation at around 6 percent. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal moved the Appropriations Bill 2023, seeking a budgetary allocation of Tk 11,10,840 crore which was passed by voice votes. READ: Budget will help to build Smart Bangladesh: Speakers Earlier today, the parliament passed the Finance Bill 2023 with some changes. Following the proposal mooted in the House by the Finance Ministry for the parliamentary approval of the appropriation of funds for meeting necessary development and non-development expenditures of the government, the ministers concerned placed justifications for the expenditure by their respective ministries through 59 demands for grants. READ: Proposed budget for FY 2023-24 fails to address macroeconomic challenges, says CPD Earlier, the parliament rejected, by voice votes, a total of only 503 cut-motions that stood in the name of opposition members on 59 demands for grants for different ministries. A total of 10 MPs, including from Jatiya Party and Gono Forum, submitted their cut-motions on the budget. They are: Kazi Firoze Rashid, Rustam Ali Farazi, Mujibul Huq, Fakhrul Imam, Pir Fazlur Rahman, Shamim Haider Patwari, Begum Rawshan Ara Mannan, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Mokabbir Khan, and Rezaul Karim Bablu. READ: It’s anti-people designed to plunder national wealth: BNP on National Budget for FY24 They were, however, allowed to participate in the discussion on Commerce Ministry and Health Services Division. Later, Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury quickened the process of passing the demands for grants for different ministries without giving a lunch break. Opposition and independent MPs were present in the House when the Appropriation Bill was passed, and they did not raise objection to passing the bill. READ: Supplementary budget for outgoing fiscal passed in JS Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on June 1 placed a Tk 7,61,785 crore budget for Bangladesh for FY 2023–24, which is 15.2 percent of the GDP, with a philosophy of ensuring a hunger- and poverty-free, knowledge-based, and 'Smart Bangladesh' by 2041. 7.5% GDP growth rate with an expectation of keeping annual inflation at around 6% The allocation for operating and other sectors is Tk 4,36,247 crore, while Tk 2,63,000 crore will go to the Annual Development Programme.  The total revenue is estimated at Tk 5 lakh crore. Out of this, Tk 4,30,000 crore will be collected by the National Board of Revenue and Tk 70,000 crore from other sources. Read more: Unrealistic budget won’t help overcome economic crisis: Fakhrul The overall deficit in the proposed budget for FY 2023-24 will stand at Tk 2,61,785 crore, which is 5.2 percent of GDP. Out of the total deficit, Tk 1,55,395 crore will be financed from domestic sources and Tk 1,02,490 crore from external sources.

The country is likely to get a Tk 593,314 crore budget for 2021-22 fiscal, Tk 25,314 crore higher than the running one, aiming to face the COVID-19 pandemic challenge and recovering the economy.

The government has chalked out a series of programmes to enter a new era of taxation from 2020-21 FY in the run-up to achieving Vision 2041 and reaching the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. "We must gear up revenue mobilisation and streamline the financial sector of the country," a senior official at the Finance Ministry said. To this effect, he said, the government has no other choice but to set up a strong, functional and transparent Income Tax Department.

Speakers at a webinar urged the government to start the activities of 'The Department of Children’ which was proposed in the new budget.

The private sector, affected during the COVID-19 induced shutdown, did not get priority for sustainable recovery in the proposed budget, economists say.