THE proposed budget for Fiscal year 2016-17 has allocated an amount of Tk 15000 crore by levying lower income-group for subsidising the capital market and recapitalization of the state-owned banks (SoBs). Experts are apprehending that the money may be looted like previous years. Without focusing on strengthening governance in SoBs and ensuring the trial to the offenders, the government is striving to give a new life to those sick sectors which would provide fresh feeds to the politically-empowered looters. The allocation Tk 13,121 crore for share market and Tk 2,000 crore for recapitalizing the SoBs is ill-motivated as pointed by the think-tank Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), as per their statement covered by the media.The question is why the taxpayers will pay the greedy thrust of the pro-ruling officials in the SoBs and capital market engineers when the government is totally indifferent to book the offenders. Moreover, the budget has slated squeezing the low income-group to fetch more money to open doors for repeated mis-doings by the corrupts. It seems to be an extreme breach of good governance and spirit of liberation.News media reported that lower income-group people will have to bear higher income tax liability in the upcoming fiscal year as the proposed budget reduced investment ceiling eligible for tax rebate. CPD said tax liability will increase by 32 percent for people having annual income of up to Tk 10 lakh due to the reduction while additional tax liability for people with annual income of above Tk 47.5 lakh will not be on pro-rata progressive rate. Of the allocation for capital injection into the capital market and the SoBs, CPD apprehends that the sums will be looted again following the previous years. The government has been recapitalizing the SoBs for the last four budgets aiming at giving strength but the SoBs over the time become financially weaker due to lack of coherent governance, politically-motivated appointment, unaccountability, sluggishness and whole scale corruption at all levels. Several probe bodies unearthed the loopholes at the SoBs and suggested drastic reformation, but nothing heed to. So, why pouring taxpayers money to be drained out again knowing that the government reluctant to plug the holes is the big question. Similarly, the government is going to refinance the capital market, where millions of small investors lost their all in all in 2010, with fresh money supposedly to make it vibrant but how the market will get momentum without plugging the past holes has not been addressed to properly.The proposed budget is set to over-tax the lower-income group’s inappropriately creating an imbalance in the economy. The government should better reduce tax burden of the lower-income group, suspend the fresh capital injection into SoBs and capital market, and set an example of rule of law by booking the looters whoever they are under the judicial system. The budget should be compatible to the lower-income group capacity and for the benefit of the majority.
