‘Govt on right track to keep macroeconomic stability’
23 March 2023
BSS, Dhaka :
Private Industry and Investment advisor to Prime Minister Salman F Rahman said on Wednesday that the government is on the right track to maintain macroeconomic stability in the country, given the way it has been reacting to the various challenges owing to global conditions.
"It's true that the country's macroeconomic situation is facing a lot of challenges. But, the way we're reacting, we can say that we're on the right track," he said while addressing a pre-budget discussion of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) for the next fiscal year (FY23) held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Dhaka. State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam, former FBCCI president Md Shafiul Islam (Mohiuddin), and Salman F Rahman spoke as special guests.
FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin and former FBCCI President and Managing Director of Ha-Meem Group spoke as guests of honour. DCCI president Md Sameer Sattar moderated the discussion. The editor of The Daily Samakal, Mozammel Hossain, gave the vote of thanks.
Welcoming the suggestions from businesses ahead of the next budget for FY23, Salman said that Bangladesh did well to manage the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
"But, the Russia-Ukraine war was much unexpected for us," he said.
Regarding the shortage of foreign currency reserves in the last few months, he said that the central bank took immediate steps to address the issue, like controlling imports, especially the luxurious items for which the import bills came down to $5 billion in December.
Salman said that the opening up of LCs would be eased further in the coming days, while the foreign currency reserves would be stable by June this year.
He also said that the single exchange rate would be effective by June this year, while the interest rate cap would be made market-based. Citing that the country's tax-to-GDP ratio is still lower compared to other countries in the world, the adviser said that there is a need to further widen the tax net, for which automation is very much needed.
He opined that if the revenue board could develop a uniform import duty, it would be possible to address various problems, but the revenue would fall in such a case. Noting that the small traders in the country are often reluctant to pay taxes and VAT, the Adviser said there is a need to change their mindset while the business community leaders should make a serious propaganda about the necessity of paying taxes.
