Speakers at a webinar on Tuesday stressed the need for framing a COVID-19 pandemic focused budget for the next fiscal year (FY22) putting highest priority on the health sector to mitigate the health related risks alongside focusing on sound macroeconomic management, widening social safety nets, raising the tax-GDP ratio and generating more employments.
The speakers also emphasized on strengthening the ongoing vaccination programme, carrying on necessary tax reforms as well as reducing the corporate tax rates, ensuring proper budget implementation and quality spending of development projects, addressing the livelihood issues in the context of pandemic, prioritizing the CMSMEs and bringing the education sector under the purview of the stimulus packages.
The country's leading economists, professionals, business leaders, and civil society representatives gave such recommendations at a webinar on "Macroeconomy: Expectations from National Budget 2021-22".
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) and the Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF) jointly organized the webinar.
Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman spoke at the webinar as the chief guest.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, MCCI President Barrister Nihad Kabir, DCCI President Rizwan Rahman, former adviser to the caretaker government Rasheda K Chowdhury, Chairman of Trustee Board of BUILD Abul Kasem Khan, Executive Director of PRI Dr Ahsan H Mansur, FICCI President Rupali Haque Chowdhury, former President of AmCham AKM Aftabul Islam, distinguished fellow of CPD Prof Mustafizur Rahman, senior research fellow of BIDS Dr Nazneen Ahmed, Chairman of PEB Dr M Masrur Reaz, executive director of SANEM Dr Selim Raihan, chief news editor of the Daily Prothom Alo Shawkat Hossain Masum, BASIS President Syed Almas Kabir, ICAB Vice Presidents Sidhartha Barua, Md Abdul Kader Joaddar and council member of ICAB Mohammad Forkan Uddin spoke at the webinar.
ICAB President Mahmudul Hasan Khusru chaired the webinar while its past president Md Humayun Kabir moderated the webinar. CEO of ICAB Shubhashish Bose gave an introduction of the topic. ERF President Sharmin Rinvy made the opening remarks while its general secretary SM Rashidul Islam gave the vote of thanks. ICAB Vice President Maria Howlader gave the closing remarks.
PM's Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman agreed with the suggestions of the participants of the webinar to enhance budgetary allocation on the health sector and thus strengthen the ongoing vaccination campaign.
Stressing the need for carrying out necessary reforms in the financial sector and in the revenue sector, he said reforms in the capital market and bond market is also necessary to attract the large scale investors.
The Adviser noted that if the lion share of the deficit financing could be made available from the foreign sources then it's impact in the domestic sector would be not that much.
Executive director of PRI Dr Ahsan H Mansur proposed for allocating Taka 15,000 crore for vaccination in the next budget and that fund should be made available from day one.
Distinguished fellow of CPD Prof Dr Mustafizur Rahman put emphasis on generating more employments, giving relief to the import substitute Industries through taxation, revisiting the import regulations, enhancing quality expenditure, and ensuring necessary reforms.
MCCI President Barrister Nihad Kabir put utmost priority on ensuring qualitative spending of development projects through real time basis monitoring and evaluation by the IMED, raising the tax-GDP ratio, giving policy support to CMSMEs, and also to check the trend of dodging tax and laundering of money abroad.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman suggested for reducing the corporate tax rate progressively by 2.5 percent in the next three years and thus bring it at 25 percent to facilitate the businesses.
