Proposed budget lacks anti-inflationary guidelines

The proposed budget for FY25 has set a goal to bring down inflation to 6 per cent, but there are no clear guidelines to achieve this goal. Besides, in the absence of special initiatives for investment and job creation, it will be difficult to achieve economic stability.

Adviser to the former caretaker government Dr AB Mirza Md Azizul Islam made the remarks while addressing a Shadow Parliament debate competition on the proposed budget for FY25, organised by the Debate for Democracy at the city FDC on Saturday.

Debate for Democracy Chairman Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran presided over the event.

At the event, Dr AB Mirza Md Azizul Islam further said, “Tax administration lacks good governance and efficiency. This is why the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been unable to collect taxes as per the target.

“Besides, half of the TIN holders in the country do not file income tax returns. The NBR may want to look into this matter.”

He continued, “Repayment of the existing foreign debt will be a challenge. The information given out by the Bangladesh Bank about defaulted loans is not correct. Hiding information is an obstacle to good governance.

“Excessive dependence on domestic banks for budget financing will disrupt entrepreneurship development and employment.”

Azizul then pointed out, “There are reasons to be concerned about the current state of forex reserves. But the situation has not become like that of Sri Lanka as yet. In addition to regional disparities in poverty alleviation, disparities between urban and rural areas are increasing too.

“Marginalised groups are deprived of the benefits of social security programmes due to political considerations and the dominance of local influence quarters in determining the beneficiaries of social security programmes.”

Chairman of Debate for Democracy Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron said, “The budget for FY25 has been presented in a very difficult period amid various challenges, including a rise in commodity prices, shortage of reserves, high value of USD, chaos in financial sector, money laundering, rampant corruption.

“Although various crises are mentioned in the proposed budget, there is no clear strategy to resolve these problems. There is no action to restore order in the financial sector. No clear explanations on how to prevent money laundering, curb corruption, reduce wastage and rein in inflation.”

Debaters from the Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT) defeated Cumilla University in the Shadow Parliament titled “Proposed Budget Will Help to Maintain Economic Stability.”

Trophies, crests and certificates were awarded to the winning BUBT team at the end of the competition.