Some analysts term the budgetary provision of bringing back laundered money by offering tax incentives unethical and contravention of social justice, while suggesting a revision of different fiscal measures.
Speaking at a budget dialogue organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Thursday at a city hotel, they stressed raising the tax-free income limit proposed at Tk 0.3 million and adequate measures for containing inflation.
Planning Minister MA Mannan virtually joined the dialogue as the chief guest while chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud, Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Kazi Nabil Ahmed and former commerce minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury attended the meet as special guests.
In reply to an observation relating to higher inflation, Planning Minister Mr Mannan said those who are vocal of the higher inflation actually work with a focused group, for example, the poor people. BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) measures the inflation having higher number of goods and services in its basket.
He hinted that the BBS may work with "the focus group usually hit hard by the inflation". Contradicting some observations on the BBS data, the minister said by providing false data the government cannot help build Padma bridge, Karnaphuli Tunnel and metro rail.
"The rise in life-expectancy cannot be achieved by giving manipulated data," he added.
Earlier, former commerce minister Amir Khosru Mahmood Chowdhury said that the data of the Election Commission and the BBS are same.
He sees much lacking regarding international standards while calculating the foreign-exchange reserves as it has included in it the amount of export-development fund.
The opposition BNP leader raised a question as to whether the economy is running on the basis of free-market model or not.
"I see there are many norms of our economy that contradict the free-economic model."
He told the meet that they had introduced the free-floating exchange rate. "The government has changed it, leading to losses incurred by many businesses and people."
He said the financial institutions division of the Ministry of Finance is the "main culprit of all crimes in the financial sector and it is against the spirit of the central bank autonomy".
Vice-President of Bangladesh Employers' Federation Shusmita Anis, President of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Rizwan Rahman and Socialist Workers Front President Razekuzzaman Ratan also spoke, among others, on the occasion.
CPD Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem delivered a 77-slide presentation. He urged the government to take target-specific budgetary measures to address the "attendant challenges".
Mr Moazzem emphasized using appropriate fiscal policy to protect low and limited earners in the country.
He said the CPD had earlier emphasised the need for protecting the low and limited earners in the country and focusing on inflation management and restoration of macroeconomic stability by coming out of GDP-growth obsession.
He recommended allowing tax concession on essential commodities at both import and domestic stages and providing tax relief to middle-income groups to protect the low and limited earners.
The CPD economist advocated for allocating adequate resources for subsidies for keeping the administered prices of petroleum products, electricity, gas, and fertilizer and expanding social- safety-net provisions both in terms of coverage and amount of per-capita allocation.
Dr Fahmida Khatun, CPD executive director who moderated the exhaustive session, said the fiscal and monetary measures that have been taken to guard the poor, the lower-income groups, the limited-income groups, and the middle class are inadequate.
DCCI president Rizwan Rahman said that the move for bringing back laundered money from abroad by giving tax incentives would demoralize genuine taxpayers.
He noted that the tax-free income limit should be raised.
jasimharoon@yahoo.com