Financing FY15-16 proposed budget a big challenge: CPD

Civil society think-tank Centre for Policy Dialogue(CPD) has termed mobilization of funds along with collecting the revenue target and implementation of development plans as the toughest challenges of the proposed budget for fiscal year 2015-16 (FY16).
"The biggest challenge of the budget is financing . . . revenue target is highly ambitious and the budget lacks measures to boost private investment which is essentially needed to spur growth," said CPD's distinguished fellow economist Debapriya Bhattachariya while giving reaction to the budget in the capital Friday.
The think-tank hailed some measures, including slashing of corporate tax rate and a hike in the source tax for exporters. But it termed the Tk4,000 uniform minimum tax for all taxpayers is "unfair".
CPD Executive Director Mostafizur Rahman delivered the welcome speech, a BSS report said.
The think-tank termed the child budget as a bright and good side of the budget for FY16 and exclusion the district budget without any announcement is its dim side.
During the press conference, CPD's distinguished fellow proposed constitution of five commissions for different sectors for implementation of budget proposals.
Expressing his doubt about achieving the revenue target, Debapriya said a big portion of the revenue target would not be possible to achieve and in such a situation, overall targets of the budget for FY16 would not be fulfilled.
"The dream 'Bangladesh Marches towards Prosperity Paving the Way for Higher Growth' shown us by the finance minister would be very much difficult to materialize . . . the ways would be slippery if the revenue target is not achieved," said Debapriya.
He said the government expenditures account for 17 percent of Bangladesh's GDP though many countries like ours spend over 22 percent of its GDP. So, Bangladesh can consider increasing the expenditures, he added.
Debapriya said the government is depending on borrowing from internal sources because of shortfall in revenue.
While focusing on allocations for other sectors, he said allocations will have to be increased for health and education along with infrastructure.
About implementation of priority projects, he said Padma Bridge and Rampal Power Plant are being implemented timely but progress of work on other project is not satisfactory.