Business leaders and experts in Bangladesh have called for framing a ‘pandemic-focussed’ budget for the upcoming fiscal year even as they sought substantial allocations for micro, cottage, small and medium industries, vaccination, new poor and tax incentives for luring investment in key economic sectors.
As per media reports, they made these observations while taking part in a virtual pre-budget webinar titled ‘Macro Economy: Expectation from National Budget 2021-22’, organised recently by the Economic Reporters’ Forum and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) jointly.
Speaking on the occasion, the newly elected President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Faruque Hassan, reportedly, called for keeping the tax rate stable for five to 10 years to help the sector stay competitive even as he
pointed out that the recovery from the pandemic impact was taking longer thereby affecting the export while also underlining that the SMEs were in the most vulnerable condition now.
We hope there would be specific direction and allocation for the sector in the upcoming budget, reportedly, stated the BGMEA President taking part in the webinar, which was attended by senior economists, presidents of major trade bodies, researchers and accounting professionals.
Former President of ICAB Humayun Kabir moderated the discussion while the economic affairs adviser to the Prime Minister Dr. Mashiur Rahman attended the webinar as the chief guest.