Photo: Collected
The Bangladesh Economic Association has presented an alternative budget of Tk 11 lakh 95 thousand 486 crores for the next financial year 2024-25. Which is 1.57 times bigger than the current financial year.
On Monday (June 3) in the auditorium of the Economic Association, the president of the association, Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad and General Secretary Professor Dr. Md. Aynul Islam presented the proposal. At this time, the former president of the Economics Association, Professor Dr. Abul Barkat and others were present.
It is said in the preamble that the announced budget is an expansionary budget. Its recommendation number is 361. 24 key points are presented here. These include inequality and inequality, poverty alleviation, social protection and safety net, inflation, investment and savings, remittances, capital markets, banks, foreign sector, reserve strengthening, public debt, agricultural land, land litigation, health, education, women's empowerment, People with disabilities, nature and government financial resources etc.
Aynul Islam said that this alternative budget has been proposed to achieve 7 goals in the next 10 years. These are to promote 70-80 percent of people to the middle class, to reduce inequality to the lowest level, to distribute the wealth of the rich among the poor and low-income people, to give the most importance to the national economy in development, to create opportunities to make people scientifically minded and enlightened, and to create decent employment opportunities.
Regarding black money, the Economic Association said that black money in 50 years from 1972-73 to 2022-23 is Tk 1 crore 32 lakh 53 thousand 500 crores. Recommending only 0.98 percent rescue in the upcoming budget. Tk 10 thousand crores will be collected there.
On the other hand, Tk 11 lakh 92 thousand 815 crores were laundered abroad at that time. Of which 0.49 percent is recommended to be salvaged. The amount of which will be Tk 5 thousand crores. And Tk 10 lakh 24 thousand 767 crores will come from the revenue sector.
In response to a question about black money, the former general secretary of the association, Dr Jamaluddin Ahmed said, political will is needed to address this. Politics drives the economy. There is a method to take action on the right line. Digital payment system is one of them. It is possible to find out the location of black money if it can be done 100 percent.
Abul Barkat added that black money is staying in many places. The Finance Ministry did a study, which has not been published. It was said that the amount of black money in Bangladesh could be 33 to 66 percent of the GDP. According to the Economic Association, black money accounts for an average of 33 percent every year.
According to the proposal of the Economic Association, about the source of income, in the proposed alternative budget, the income is Tk 260 thousand 700 crore on profit and capital, wealth tax is Tk 2 lakh
12 thousand crore, tax on excess profit is Tk 75 thousand 200 crore, import duty on luxury goods is Tk 85 thousand, drug duty 5 thousand 200 crores, receipts from black money Tk 10,000 crores and receipts from recovery of money laundering Tk 5,000 crores.
Members of Bangladesh Economic Association and representatives of various professions from 64 districts, 135 upazilas and 45 unions of the country are connected virtually in the video conference of the alternative budget press conference. Earlier, the Bangladesh Economic Association presented an alternative budget of Tk 20 lakh 94 thousand 112 crores for the last financial year 2023-24.
Messenger/Fameema
