Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) thinks proposed steps to tackle inflation in the budget is not sufficient.
In its pre-budget proposal, the CPD urged the government withdraw duties from essential commodities such as rice, sugar and wheat but the finance minister has reduced customs duty only on wheat.
CPD’s executive director Fahmida Khatun said this in an immediate reaction on the budget placed by finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday.
The CPD said the government should have increased the tax-free income ceiling considering the existing high inflation.
Fahmida Khatun praised government’s proposal to increase subsidy in agriculture sector. CPD said the subsidies should have been increased in power and energy sectors but the finance minister has indicated that prices of gas and power would be adjusted in future. That means gas and power prices would go up further, which will increase the economic pressure of lower-income people.
While the allocation on social safety net needed to be increased due to Covid fallout, it was decreased to 2.55 per cent of GDP from last year’s 2.88 per cent.
Fahmida said reducing corporate tax may be beneficial for the businessmen but this would not have any immediate positive impact in the lives of poor people.