Ashraf Ahmed The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) believes the proposed budget's 6.75 per cent GDP growth target for FY25 is "achievable".
To attain it, DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed advocated for overcoming the liquidity crisis and navigating global economic uncertainties.
"Reaching the target depends on overcoming the liquidity crisis and various macroeconomic scenarios," Mr Ahmed said at the DCCI office in the city, reacting to the FY25 budget.
He welcomed the budget's realism and implementability.
The DCCI president said the government has tried to balance revenue collection with inflationary pressures by controlling the budget deficit and reducing import duties and advance tax on essential products.
He appreciated the decrease in import duties on nearly 30 essential items, labelling it "a good move".
While praising the government's lower bank borrowing target compared to the previous fiscal year, Mr Ahmed cautioned that it was still high.
"If government borrowing increases, private sector credit flow may shrink," he said.
The business leader welcomed the introduction of a prospective tax system for FY24-25 and FY25-26, believing it could stimulate foreign direct investment (FDI).
However, he suggested a separate tax code for the small and medium (SME) sector, considering the current system's complexity for them.
He viewed the lower budget deficit target of 4.6 per cent as achievable, but noted revenue collection as the main challenge.
Expanding the tax net is very important to increase revenue, according to the DCCI president , as he called for raising the tax-to-GDP ratio from below 10 per cent to at least 30 per cent within the next decade.
In response to a media query, the trade body leader acknowledged the mixed impact of tax changes, with reductions on some items offset by increases on others. However, he downplayed the overall "harsh impact" on businesses.
"The main challenge will be the successful implementation of the good initiatives of the budget," he added.
He commended the conditional 2.5 per cent corporate tax rate reduction for both listed and non-listed companies.
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