Dhaka //

BNP has called for the government to focus on unnecessary development activities, reducing operating expenses and reducing the loan budget given to autonomous organizations without increasing VAT on people.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said these things at a press conference called at the BNP Chairperson’s political office in Gulshan on Saturday morning.

He said that in the current situation, the government should first focus on reducing expenses. We think that if the government reconsiders its development budget and eliminates unnecessary and financially unreasonable projects, it is possible to reduce expenses by about 20 percent and this will help save about 60 thousand crore taka. In terms of operating expenses, if the government reduces expenses in the local government budget and subsidy sector and can reduce overall operating expenses by 10 percent, then at least 50 thousand crore taka is possible. Moreover, the government can temporarily save expenses by reducing the loan budget given to autonomous organizations. It is worth noting that a loan of Tk 50,875 crore was budgeted for autonomous institutions in the fiscal year 2024-25.

Stating that the government can save at least Tk 1 lakh crore in the budget by reducing expenditure and reduce the deficit, the BNP Secretary General said that these steps are very important for the country’s economic stability and long-term development. These initiatives to reduce the government’s expenditure will reduce the tax burden on the common people and ease the economic pressure. As a result, the people will be financially stable and the overall economy of the country will develop.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that there is strong dissatisfaction in various circles related to the financial sector, including the business community, with such a sudden decision of the government. According to economists, this decision of the government clearly proves that there is an extreme lack of coordination in the government’s monetary policy, fiscal policy and market management. Although the recent statement of the NBR claims that there are no daily necessities in the increased tax sector, the country’s leading economists are reluctant to accept this argument of the NBR. According to them, if taxes are increased on everyday items like medicines, LPG, mobile services, restaurant food, and clothing, the suffering in public life will further accelerate and inflation will skyrocket.

Criticizing the VAT system, this senior BNP leader said, the country’s economic condition has already become fragile due to the corruption and mismanagement of the fascist Awami League government. In this fragile situation, trying to meet the government’s expenses by increasing the VAT rate or tax rate by walking on the easy road will not be beneficial for the people of the country in any way. We should remember that the people of this country have sacrificed their lives to get rid of the Awami regime. Let us not take them back to that regime by adopting wrong policies.

This leader said, we have said before that we will fully support and cooperate with this interim government. Therefore, I request the government to consider the people’s views first while formulating policies. In the current economic reality of the country, there is an opportunity to consider other ways to collect revenue and act accordingly. Urging the government to focus on increasing direct taxes instead of increasing indirect taxes, the BNP Secretary General said, because indirect taxes affect all classes of people almost equally and increase the burden on the lower class people. Even without increasing direct taxes, the ongoing financial problems can be solved by reducing government expenditure (Cost Cutting), and reorganizing the financial management of the current budget.

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