When the economic situation of the country is halted and everything has come to a standstill due to the prevailing pandemic lockdown, the finance ministry is targeting to collect huge amounts of revenue of Tk 330000 crores.
Such a bigger revenue plan has surprised the country’s economists and analysts as they say the revenue target is not being met at normal times.
According to Finance Ministry Information, the target of revenue collection of Tk 330000 crores is 1.35 percent of the original target for the current financial year.
The main target for the current financial year is Tk 325000 crores, which was amended to Tk 300000 crores. As a result, the estimated target is about 10 percent higher than the revised revenue target.
In this regard, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) former chairman Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told journalists that, “As the coronavirus taking its toll on the globe including Bangladesh, this time no situation prevails to fix big revenue targets as per the norm.
As the production of every industry is stopped, companies have no earnings, loan installments interest of the bank’s customers have been postponed for two months,goals should be set that can be achieved in such a situation. Because the coming financial year is a little unusual”.
“As coronavirus has stopped everything, we have to compensate for the loss and help everyone to survive. For this, efforts should be made to get foreign aid and loans without putting pressure on revenue. Government investment should be increased in the economy, necessary projects should be continued.
Otherwise, the economy will lose its pace, unemployment will increase, stalemate will be created. Hence, the budget plan should be done in such a way that it is implementable”, he added.
The revenue collection target was Tk 3,25, 000 crores for the current financial year, said NBR officials adding that, in the next budget, the revenue collection target may be Tk3,95,000 crores.
Of this, Tk3,30,000 crores is targeted from tax under the NBR, and Tk65,000 crores from tax outside the NBR and revenue sectors without tax, they further said.
NBR information showed, until April of this fiscal year, revenue growth is only six percent. However, despite the hard hit of coronavirus, revenue growth is projected at 30 to 45 percent for the coming fiscal year.
In the current financial year, NBR has the target to collect Tk 1,600 crores in VAT, Tk 1,600 crores in income tax, and Tk 85,221 crores in the customs sector. But, in the nine months till March of the current financial year, NBR earned Tk 165000 crores against Tk 221000 crores. In other words, there is already a deficit of Tk 56000 crores.
It is to be noted, LTU (Largest Taxpayer Unit) is the largest source of income tax collection. Under LTU, bank, insurance, multinationals, telecom, and other more than 1000 corporate companies pay their tax. However, LTU information showed, bank earnings largely fell due to the spread of coronavirus. Export-import through all ports are also sharply declined.
Executive Director of South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) DrSelimRaihan told The Bangladesh Post that, “This year’s budget should not be conventional, and rather it should reflect the ongoing pandemic crisis. This year, the government should not think about the budget deficit, even the deficit can increase to 8 to 10 percent, it could be adjusted in following years”.
“Government expenditure should be increased on some certain sectors while unnecessary government expenditure should be stopped in the coming fiscal. A quick assessment can be made on these unusual expenditures. Hence, the government can make the stimulus incentive package consistent with this year’s budget”, he added.
He further put emphasis on making a proper assessment so that the government can overcome the loss that is happening during this lockdown, reduce unemployment, ensure food safety and lessen unwanted risks.
