Pro-business budget

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Friday said his government would be able to implement the budget for the upcoming fiscal year like it did in the past.He also defended the corporate tax cuts unveiled in the budget on Thursday and other tax and value-added tax measures to support the domestic businesses and industries.

"This will boost collection. We will be winner. This is a win-win situation."

Kamal said the private sector had to be facilitated to put them in the driving seat in creation of jobs and taking the country forward. Thanks to the tax measures, businesses will produce more and create more jobs."

He made the comments at the post-budget media briefing held virtually on Friday.

He alsohinted that the government may retain the provision to legalise undisclosed income by paying taxes at certain rates later because now it lacks data on the outcome of the option kept in the budget for the outgoing fiscal year ending Jun 30.

At the briefing, Abdur Rouf Talukder, senior secretary of the finance division, said the government has set aside Tk 14,200 crore to buy coronavirus vaccines for the next one year.The budgetary allocation is adequate for the government to meet its yearly vaccination target amid the coronavirus pandemic,

On Thursday, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled a Tk 6.04 trillion spending plan for fiscal 2021-22, setting aside Tk 327.31 billion for healthcare and family welfare.

Set against the backdrop of a devastating second wave of the pandemic, the proposed budget for the health sector makes up 5.4 percent of the total budget for FY22. The government has also earmarked Tk 100 billion to meet expenses related to unanticipated emergencies due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, analysts have been critical of the health budget for failing to meet both the expectations and needs during the ongoing pandemic. The budget also lacked any concrete strategy to reform the country's healthcare system, according to them.

Experts say that in the reality of the epidemic, this allocation of health is inconsistent with expectations or needs. They did not get any direction in the budget for the reform of the health sector.

Responding to the matter at a virtual post-budget press conference on Friday, Talukder said the proposed allocation for the health sector in FY22 is 13 percent bigger than the orgininal budget for the current year.

“There is no problem with the allocation. We have allocated more than enough money to provide vaccinations for a year. A total of Tk 142 billion has been set aside. More funds can be diverted from other sectors if necessary."

The government will also take further initiatives to bring transparency to the procurement process in the health sector, according to the secretary.

Agriculture Minister AbdurRazzaque, who also attended the briefing, said: “Money can be given to this sector (health) from other sectors. Funds will not be an issue.”

The government is attaching the 'utmost importance' to the healthcare sector and the current state of the economy means that it will have 'no problem' in mobilising funds to tackle the coronavirus crisis, he added.