Economic Reporter :
Hailing the national budget for fiscal year 2018-19, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on Saturday urged the government to put concentration on certain policy reforms, simplification of taxation, ease of doing business, infrastructure as well to materialize the vision.
“Bangladesh’s economy is progressing well, but below its true potential,” opined MCCI, saying inadequate infrastructure and shortage of power and energy are now major impediments to the actual growth of the economy.
In a post budget reaction, the trade body said: “We applaud the Finance Minister for considering the national development goals and vision objectives while preparing the budget and proposing measures to uphold the country’s graduation to a developing country status, boosting economic growth, collect revenue, reduce poverty, provide necessary protection to local industries, and widen the prevailing safety net for freedom fighters and other deserving groups for improving the economic condition of the people.”
It said there is no alternative to raising the level of private investment including foreign direct investment (FDI) if Bangladesh is to confirm the status of developing country by 2021, said a press release.
MCCI appreciated the 7.65 per cent growth in GDP against targeted 7.40 per cent in this fiscal year and the target of 7.80 per cent in the upcoming fiscal year.
“We feel that as time progresses the GDP growth will rise further as the country has started showing encouraging signs with higher demand for investment credit, increased import of industrial raw materials, better of export performance and remittance earnings.”
Higher GDP growth is necessary for achieving the status of developing country by 2021, added the trade body.
It, however, said special attention will need to be given to taking measures to contain inflation. The proposed budget keeps the inflation target below 5.4 per cent in the new fiscal year.
MCCI said attaining the increased revenue target for FY19 will continue to be a major challenge though the number of tax payers has increased. In order to achieve the revenue target, MCCI strongly suggested that tax compliant enterprises should not be excessively burdened.
The chamber appreciates the allocation of Taka 173,000 crore for the annual development programme (ADP) for FY19, which is 16.59 per cent higher than the revised ADP (Taka 148,381 crore).
Hailing the national budget for fiscal year 2018-19, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on Saturday urged the government to put concentration on certain policy reforms, simplification of taxation, ease of doing business, infrastructure as well to materialize the vision.
“Bangladesh’s economy is progressing well, but below its true potential,” opined MCCI, saying inadequate infrastructure and shortage of power and energy are now major impediments to the actual growth of the economy.
In a post budget reaction, the trade body said: “We applaud the Finance Minister for considering the national development goals and vision objectives while preparing the budget and proposing measures to uphold the country’s graduation to a developing country status, boosting economic growth, collect revenue, reduce poverty, provide necessary protection to local industries, and widen the prevailing safety net for freedom fighters and other deserving groups for improving the economic condition of the people.”
It said there is no alternative to raising the level of private investment including foreign direct investment (FDI) if Bangladesh is to confirm the status of developing country by 2021, said a press release.
MCCI appreciated the 7.65 per cent growth in GDP against targeted 7.40 per cent in this fiscal year and the target of 7.80 per cent in the upcoming fiscal year.
“We feel that as time progresses the GDP growth will rise further as the country has started showing encouraging signs with higher demand for investment credit, increased import of industrial raw materials, better of export performance and remittance earnings.”
Higher GDP growth is necessary for achieving the status of developing country by 2021, added the trade body.
It, however, said special attention will need to be given to taking measures to contain inflation. The proposed budget keeps the inflation target below 5.4 per cent in the new fiscal year.
MCCI said attaining the increased revenue target for FY19 will continue to be a major challenge though the number of tax payers has increased. In order to achieve the revenue target, MCCI strongly suggested that tax compliant enterprises should not be excessively burdened.
The chamber appreciates the allocation of Taka 173,000 crore for the annual development programme (ADP) for FY19, which is 16.59 per cent higher than the revised ADP (Taka 148,381 crore).
