Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury has strongly urged the government to consider and withdraw the excise duty on bank accounts and interest rate slapped on savings letters belonging to people in the lower and middle-income brackets in the proposed budget for FY2017-18.
"Nearly 7 million to 7.5 million people, who are mostly lower and middle-income, in the country will have to pay Tk200 crore under the proposed budget, which is unacceptable," she said on Thursday, while participating in a general discussion on the budget for the seventh day in Parliament, a BSS report has said. In the proposed budget, the finance minister imposed Tk800 instead of Tk500 against accumulated savings ranging from Tk1 lakh to Tk10 lakh, which will adversely affect a large number of lower and middle-income people, Matia said.She called on the government to reconsider the proposed excise and interest rate cuts in savings certificates and bank accounts.
Taking part in the budget discussion, State Minister for Women and Children Meher Afroz Chumki described the proposed national budget as pragmatic, pro-people, balanced and welfare-oriented for the country’s speedy development.
"The common people of the country have no criticism about the budget as it has proved to be a trustworthy financial instrument for a self-reliant Bangladesh," Chumki said.
Highlighting her ministry's success, she said the government had undertaken various initiatives to improve women's living standards and ensure children's rights under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.