The requirements to face the challenges of the 4th industrial revolution have been suggested in the proposed national budget for FY25, say the country’s leading trade bodies.
In the proposed budget it has been suggested how and in what way the government can tackle inflation pressure and other macroeconomic challenges.
When contacted President of the country's apex trade body, the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) Mahbubul Alam told the Bangladesh Post that the budget size is rational and can be implemented easily.
“Inflation is very sensitive. However, I’m confident that the government is capable to bring down the inflation rate at 6.5 percent if no further mega project is undertaken. Besides, if already taken projects are implemented properly,” he added.
“We FBCCI proposed to fix the personal level tax free income limit should be Tk. 4,50,000 but finally the budget announced the limit at 3,50,000. So, I again urge the government to rethink about issue”, Mahbub said.
He again demanded the withdrawal of AIT and Advanced Tax (AT). If the government takes Tk. 1,37,000 crore from bank for deficit financing, then it will cause harm to private sector investors. DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed in his instant reaction of behalf of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DCCI) said this year the government has tried to increase the revenue collection amidst efforts to contain inflationary pressure on the economy by controlling budget deficit, reduce various import duty and advance tax on various essential products.
Import duty on almost 30 essential products has been reduced, which is a good move, said Ashraf Ahmed.
He also hailed the bank borrowing target that is almost 11.82% less than the last fiscal. But still, it is high. If government borrowing increases, private sector credit flow may shrink.
Ashraf Ahmed welcomed the initiative of the prospective tax system in place for the fiscal year 2024-25 and 2025-26.
“It is a good move and it may help boost FDI. My suggestion is to separate tax code for SME sector as the tax administrative system is a bit complex for the SME sector, he said.
Omar Hazzaz, president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said that to face the challenges of the 4th industrial revolution, it is smart to attract 1 billion US dollars foreign investment including the creation of 1 million smart jobs in the information technology sector in the next 5 years.
He hailed the plan to implement 110 reforms, adopted in the period from 2024-2027 aiming to attract local and foreign investment in the country.
CCCI president said that the total expenditure in the budget is Tk 7 lakh 97 thousand crore, total income is Tk 5 lakh 41 thousand crore and total debt is Tk 2 lakh 56 thousand crore.
“To meet the budget deficit, loans will be taken from domestic and foreign sources. I think the government should attach importance to domestic sources rather than foreign loans to deal with deficit budget. The government has finalised the draft export policy for 2024-27,” he said.
Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BWCCI) terms budget rational, gender balanced and extensive one for the fiscal 2024-2025 to construct a Smart Bangladesh.
"Budget gives highest importance to employment and skills, technical education and skill development training, women empowerment and children welfare, SME and service sector, industrial sectors and ICT and e-commerce as priority sectors", said a BWCCI statement
The statement said the online service system for government services in all sectors, increase Tax coverage, tariff reduction for health protection and medical instruments, increase the supplementary duty fee on tobacco products etc.
