Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed clarified why VAT on various products was increased at the start of the year instead of raising it through the budget.
He stated “In the July-August uprising, individuals who were seriously injured in the anti-discrimination student movement were given 35 lakh taka each, amounting to several hundred crore taka in total”
“During the movement, 300 police vehicles were burned, and 500 crore taka needs to be provided for this. Where will I get that much money from? VAT can be quickly implemented, so I increased the VAT to raise the required funds. After that, I reduced the VAT on many products. I will try to reduce the dependence on VAT in the budget.”
He made these comments on Sunday at a meeting organized by the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF) on the topic "The Role of Remittances in Bangladesh's Economy."
Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said, "My resource gap is quite large. Therefore, we had to take assistance from the IMF, World Bank, and ADB. We have to pay back our loans; we have never been a debtor. They are helping us in tackling our challenges."
"In order to receive funds from the IMF and the World Bank, we must fulfill certain economic conditions. We have always met those conditions. We’ve had numerous discussions with them regarding this. They recommended increasing VAT, but this has led to various complications. These matters are quite delicate—raising VAT by even one or two taka impacts not just expatriates but also local importers, and it comes with various responsibilities. As a result, the prices of all imported goods will rise."
The general secretary of BSRF, Masudul Haque, moderated the meeting, and the president of the organization, Fasihuddin Mahtab, chaired it.
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
