The national budget for fiscal year 2020-21 (FY '21) has proposed to continue existing 2.0 per cent incentive on money remitted by expatriate Bangladeshis.
In his budget speech, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal made the proposal on Thursday and said the Prime Minister announced the incentive for expatriate Bangladeshis in the outgoing budget (FY '20).
The objectives of introducing the incentive for this sector were- to mitigate the burden of increased expenses in sending foreign remittances, and to encourage bringing in foreign remittance through legal channels.
As a result, inward remittances grew significantly during July-May of the current financial year as US$ 16.56 billion has been earned during the 11-month period, which is making a special contribution to the country's economy.
However, due to the outbreak of coronavirus in major destinations for Bangladeshi migrant workers and the drastic fall in global crude oil prices affecting the Middle East countries, growth in inward remittances will slow down at the end of this fiscal year.
"I, therefore, propose to continue this incentive in the next fiscal year too," he said.
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