B Mirror Report
Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said on Saturday that the proposed budget is not surprising because it does not include major measures to collect defaulted loans, repatriate money that has been laundered, or expand the tax base. He made this statement at a Debate for Democracy-hosted pre-budget shadow parliament meeting at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC). He pointed out that recovering money that was embezzled, money that was laundered, and loans that were not repaid from the previous administration could offer a creative way to support the upcoming national budget. He claims that the next budget seems to follow a conventional strategy with little opportunity for creativity.
Debapriya pointed out both the successes and challenges faced by the current government’s economic management. He highlighted that a significant achievement has been the reduction of foreign debt pressure through the repayment of $5 billion, which had been consistently rising under the previous government. “The immediate past government left the country in a precarious situation with heavy foreign debt,” he stated.
He commended the current government’s management of the external sector, which includes remittance inflows, export earnings, debt servicing, reserve accumulation, and maintaining exchange rate stability. However, he criticized existing development projects, claiming that many are overvalued and that nearly 40% of expenditures are fictitious. “The projects responsible for financial outflow in the past continue unabated,” he remarked.
Debapriya also emphasized the importance of effectively managing revenue expenditure to foster trust among taxpayers. “Our tax system remains inequitable,” he noted, adding that while some macroeconomic stability has been achieved in the external sector, private sector investment and domestic economic stability are still lacking.
The session was presided over by Debate for Democracy Chairman Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron.
, said on Saturday that the proposed budget is not surprising because it does not include major measures to collect defaulted loans, repatriate money that has been laundered, or expand the tax base.){kind=link}