Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Saturday recommended raising the tax-free income threshold level from Tk 250,000 to Tk 350,000 and not keeping the provision of black money whitening facility in the national budget for 2020-‘21 fiscal year.
The CPD also recommended the upcoming budget should be formulated keeping the focus on the four sectors –health, agriculture, social safety net and employment.
“We’re for giving importance to four sectors — health, agricultural, social safety net and employment – not going to focus on many sectors in the upcoming budget. This time the budget will have to be designed keeping the four issues in mind,” said CPD executive director Dr Fahmida Khatun at a virtual media briefing over ‘COVID-19-Present Context and Budget for 2020-21 FY’.
In designing the budget, she said it needs to cut down unproductive expenditures and focus on necessary and productive ones for making the economy vibrant.
About revenue mobilisation, Dr Fahmida Khatun said it needs to expand the tax-net, and strictly curb all types of tax evasions and illicit financial flows (IFFs) with an iron hand to raise the tax-GDP ratio for meeting expenditures at this critical time.
(DS)