Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said that in the current economic reality of the country, strengthening debt management and increasing tax coverage are the biggest demands of the time.
He also said that the current government is determined to fulfill the expectations of the people and effective steps are being taken to bring the country out of the ongoing crisis.
He said this things while speaking as a special guest at the closing ceremony of the seminar titled National Multi-Stakeholder Consultation on Bangladesh Gradation Retention Assessment at the NEC Conference Room of the Planning Commission on Sunday.
The minister said that Bangladesh is currently going through a challenging economic situation, and there is no room to deny. In this situation, it is important to take well-planned initiatives to make the country's economy orderly and stable.
He mentioned that in the past, some big projects were taken up without proper planning and preparation, which has increased the debt pressure on the country. In many cases, questions remain about the cost and implementation process of the projects, which has created additional pressure on the economy.
Khandaker Muktadir said, “The loans that have already been taken must be managed properly and more caution must be exercised in taking up new projects in the future. In order to maintain the continuity of development, realistic and fruitful project selection is very important.”
Regarding the tax system, he said, “The country’s tax-GDP ratio is not satisfactory and it needs to be increased. However, he emphasized on increasing the tax coverage instead of increasing the rate.”
He said, “A large part of our economy is still outside the tax coverage. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the tax rate, but rather to increase revenue collection by expanding the tax coverage.”
The Commerce Minister further said, “The existing debt repayment capacity should be increased by increasing domestic resource mobilization and at the same time, as development activities should be taken forward in a sustainable manner.”
The program was chaired by the secretary of the Economic Relations Division Md. Shahriar Quader Siddiqui, state minister for Planning Zonayed Saki; UN Under-Secretary-General and senior representative of the UN-OHRLLS, Rabab Fatima, along with representatives from various relevant sectors, were present.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
