Controlling inflation a major challenge: Kamal
Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal listed six major challenges including containing inflation and enhancing domestic investment for the fiscal year 2022-2023 as he unveiled the budget in an -audio-visual format fully for the first time on Thursday, reports UNB.
Financing additional subsidy required for the increased price of gas, power and fertilizer in international markets and utilizing funds available through foreign assistance and ensuring timely completion of high priority projects are also listed as the challenges based on discussions, proposals and analysis.
The finance minister said ensuring timely completion of projects in education and health sectors; increasing collection of local Value Added Tax and raising the number of individual tax-payers and maintaining stability in the exchange rate of taka and keeping foreign exchange reserves at a comfortable level are also among the major challenges.
Kamal expressed his optimism that Bangladesh will be able to return to the path of development in the next fiscal year by effectively addressing the adverse situation arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
While placing the national budget for the fiscal year - 2022-2023 on Thursday, he told parliament that they had brought back the country's economy into the mainstream by overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic under the dynamic leadership of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The priority of this year's budget is to improve the livelihood of people at all levels, continue with uninterrupted economic development and employment generation, and contain inflation in parallel to addressing economic effects originated from Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, said the finance minister.
"The resilience of our economy depends on the strength of bouncing back by the communities combined with bold and courageous leadership," he said.
Kamal sad they have to be very pragmatic in addressing these challenges as any failure to address them properly may destabilize the macroeconomic stability.
"Our major strategy would be to enhance the supply while reducing the growth in demand. Therefore, import-dependent and less important government expenditures will be stopped or reduced," he said.
Kamal said the pace of implementation of the low-priority projects will be lowered while enhancing the implementation of high and medium priority projects.
He said the sales price of fossil fuel, gas, electricity and chemical fertilizers will be adjusted gradually and on a small scale.
"The automation process regarding tax collection will be expedited with a view to gearing up revenue mobilization activities and VAT and income tax coverage will be expanded. Import of luxury and dispensable goods will be restrained and under/over-invoicing will be cautiously monitored. The exchange rate of Taka against the US dollar will be kept competitive," Kamal said.