Speakers at a pre-budget discussion underscored the need for gearing up the activities of revenue administration to widen the tax net, reports BSS.
They made the observation at the discussion on the pre-budget titled "National Budget 2022-2023" organised by the Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) at Gulshan Club in the city on Saturday, says a press release.
Syed Almas Kabir, president of BMCCI, chaired and moderated the session.
In his welcome address, he said that in the following two years of the Covid pandemic, the global economy has restarted in full swing.
This assures possibilities for Bangladesh to return to a path of export and remittance led activities, he added.
In light of such a challenging context, he mentioned that the upcoming budget should suggest fiscal policy changes and resources allocation in such a way that helps Bangladesh position itself well to take advantage of the emerging opportunities.
Referring to the present situation in Sri Lanka, he said that the two economies are different, also export and development trajectories are different.
"Our external debt is low i.e. about 17 per cent of our GDP (gross domestic product). However, the gap between our export and import remittance versus our imports and outward remittance like loan repayment is narrowing drastically," he added.
Presenting the keynote at the discussion, Chittagong Stock Exchange Chairman Asif Ibrahim said in order to increase investment in the capital market, the opportunity to invest should be provided to the undisclosed money with 10 per cent tax (penalty).
Besides, tax concessions need to be given to the listed SME companies, he added.
There is no substitute to ease of doing business, he said, adding that coordination among different government agencies is needed.