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Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya has said that value-added tax (VAT) has been increased ‘inconsiderately’.
“We are astonished to see how inconsiderately the value-added tax was increased,” he said while delivering his introductory speech at a symposium titled ‘White Paper and Thereafter: Economic Management, Reforms, and National Budget’ at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) on Saturday.
“We did not see any plan to collect direct taxes,” he noted.
Debapriya, who is also the convener of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs and led the committee that prepared the White Paper on the state of Bangladesh’s economy, pointed out that no strategy has been proposed for individuals with Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) who fail to pay taxes.
“That means you go first towards the indirect tax keeping aside the direct tax. This has made us concerned,” he added.
He warned of worsening energy issues in the coming summer if immediate corrective measures are not taken.
Dr Debapriya criticised the interim government, led by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, for not presenting a clear economic manifesto.
He called for wide-ranging discussions on the upcoming budget, pointing to slowing growth, a lack of private sector investment, and employment challenges as pressing issues.
