Dhaka: Opposition lawmakers on Thursday cast doubt on implementation of the proposed budget while treasury bench lawmakers lauded the proposed budget, terming it ‘a dreamy one’.
But the ruling party lawmakers expressed resentment over the issues, including value added tax (VAT) and excise duty.
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith on June 1 placed Tk 400,266 crore budget for 2017-18 fiscal year with a thrust on higher revenue generation to meet some ambitious expenditure targets focusing on the next general election.
He also proposed increasing the excise duty to Tk 800 from the existing Tk 500 on transactions of Tk 1 lakh to Tk 10 lakh.
Speaking on the proposed budget, Jatiya Party lawmaker Pir Fazlur Rahman cast doubt on its implementation.
“A political agenda of the government exists in the budget. There has been confusion whether the budget is fully implementable,” he told the House with Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
Rahman said he thinks of this budget as a list of accounts only.
“Big budget means big ADP.
Some Tk 42,000 crore has to be spent by one month. It means Tk 1,500 crore will have to be spent by a day. This is not possible,” he said.
“Rather a ground has been prepared for looting,” he said.
The JP lawmaker came down heavily on the minister for not making the Bangladesh Bank heist report public and bringing the miscreants to book.
“Some Tk 73 thousand crore has been siphoned off but the miscreants have not been brought to justice yet,” he said, adding that some looters embezzled the taxed money from the banks in the name of loan.
The lawmaker was also critical of the finance minister’s proposal for increasing the excise duty on bank accounts.
“The finance minister might not read the minds of people. The duty should be withdrawn,” he said.
Another JP lawmaker Khurshida Haque termed the proposed budget ‘a trick’.
“Why did the finance minister not take opinions of others before placing the budget? He does not understand others and places the budget without realising the facts,” she said.
The lawmaker said his budget would not only hit the poor hard but also the rich.
“Nothing has been mentioned for women in the budget,” she said.
Meanwhile, treasury bench lawmakers lauded the budget, terming it ‘a dreamy one’.
“This is a dream budget. But the value added tax (VAT) should be reduced and kept at a tolerable level,” Rajbari MP Kazi Keramat Ullah said.
“I hope the finance minister will also withdraw the excise duty on bank deposits,” he said.
Panchanan Biswas said businessmen considered the budget as a business-friendly one.
“Expectations of people have been reflected in the budget,” he said.
Over the Hefazat’s demand for removing all sculptures, the lawmaker said, “If the demand is met, acts of militancy will be patronised.”
“Militants have been carrying out various activities to shatter the spirit of the government,” he added.
Abu Zahir told parliament that common people are not worried about the proposed budget while BNP has been trying to mislead people through falsehood.
“Khaleda Zia has become puzzled witnessing the development activities carried out by the government,” he said, adding that she had been trying to tarnish the image of the government through providing false information.
Workers Party MP Tipu Sultan demanded withdrawal of 15 percent VAT and excise duty on bank accounts.
Lawmakers, including Aftab Uddin Sarker, Abdul Malek, Abdul Mazid Khan, Amina Begum and Ruhul Amin, also spoke on the proposed budget.
