The International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) on Tuesday said the budget did not reflect much-needed reforms for stabilizing the country’s ailing banking sector.
The research and advocacy-based business forum made the comment in its post budget virtual press conference on the day.
IBFB president Humayun Rashid said, in the budget for fiscal year 2020-21 there were no steps identified for reforming the banking sector, the backbone of the country’s economy.
“If the banking sector is not stable and strong, the whole economy will become more fragile”, he warned.
The IBFB differed with the government’s proposal to provide scope for whitening black money by paying a tax of only 10%.
“Regular taxpayers will be further discouraged if there is an opportunity to launder black money by paying only a 10% tax,” IBFB president Humayun Rashid added.
"It would be good to have a clear direction on budget allocation for the creation of new entrepreneurs and to take advantage of the various job opportunities that have been created online at the moment, including relevant training," he observed.
Although the importance of the health and agriculture sectors due to the impact of coronavirus were discussed in the budget process, the allocation was a nominal increase, Humayun noted.
The IBFB president lauded the budget proposal of reducing tariffs on raw materials required by some industries. “The IBFB believes there is no alternative to encouraging industrialization for creating employment in the country and bringing low-cost products to the people,” he added.
However, he differed with the proposal of increasing the supplementary duty on mobile phones.
He said, when the country, society, and the economy are being forced to lean towards a culture of digital and virtual connectivity, there was no point in burdening people with additional taxes on the use of mobile phones and the internet.
“Considering the contemporary coronavirus pandemic, it is necessary to reduce it further”, he added.
