DHAKA, June 13 (BSS) – Leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) today termed the proposed budget for fiscal 2010-11 as progressive and pro-growth as well as implementable one.
“Its not at all an ambitious budget but its qualitative implementation seems a challenge of the government,” FBCCI
president Annisul Huq said at a post-budget press conference at a
city hotel.
The FBCCI president said the business community has greeted
the budget saying it’s a pro-growth budget considering the size
of Annual Development prorgamme (ADP) and huge allocation for the
development of the human resource and power sector.
“But we have some observations and would like to share our
views with the government about the macro economic financial
policies of the proposed budget,” he said.
Huq said the business community believes the crisis of energy
and power sector would be reduced if the government could
successfully implement its five-year action plan as per the
proposed budget.
“We also welcomed the proposed allocation of Taka 3000 crore
as well as forming a new policy for increasing Public-Private
Partnership,” he said, adding, “we believe under the new policy
of PPP and the proposed budget the development activities will
gain a new pace with huge participation of the private sector.”
The FBCCI also thanked the government for allocating Taka
1600 crore to the Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund as well
as keeping the stimulus package and allocating Taka 2000 crore to
it for the business community in the backdrop of regaining the
global economic recession.
However, the business community believes that policies about
building economic zones and industrial clusters need to be
formulated before finalizing the proposed budget for implementing
the government vision of turning the country into a middle income
one.
Huq said they observed that the proposal of increasing the
amount of import tax and value added tax (VAT) at different
sectors in the new budget may trigger the inflation rate.
Referring to the proposed increase of Advance Income Tax on
import as import duty on various products, Annisul Huq said
government should increase the amount of tax in a sustainable way
not creating pressure on the business community.
“We are not against the raising of tax, we would like to
request the government to increase the tax net not the tax
depth,” he said.
He said that the business community would talk with the
government about various aspects of budget with their set of
recommendations to reduce the amount of import duty and VAT.
FBCCI First Vice President Abul Kashem Ahmed, Director Abdul
Huq and President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries
Abul Kashem Khan and President candidate for the next committee A
K Azad were also present among others.
Source: BSS
