Md Asaduz Zaman

Bangladeshis consume only 155 grammes of fruits and vegetables per day, far below the global recommendation of 400 grams, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Accommodation costs in Bangladesh have risen further amid persistently high inflation during the April-June period this year, placing an additional burden on many of the country’s middle and lower-income people.

The recent unrest stemming from a student movement seeking reforms to the quota policy for government jobs boiled over into violence after the initially peaceful protest was allegedly attacked by an opposing party.

Bangladesh recently reached a milestone registering one crore Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs), yet nearly 59 percent of these individuals did not file tax returns in the just-concluded fiscal year of 2023-24.

The government has been overestimating its annual revenue collection targets and associated future expenditures over the past 11 years, according to a finance ministry document.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has fallen short of its revenue collection target for the 12th consecutive year, with experts opining that the existing framework for tax collection is inadequate.

Bangladesh is set to include online economic activities of firms and households in its new census this year to cover all sectors of the country, a move that is expected to present data about the size of the expanding digital economy.

Although wage growth in Bangladesh has been slowly climbing since July 2021, it has remained below the inflation rate for the past two and a half years, government data shows.

The construction cost index in Bangladesh hit 6.01 percent in May, making it costlier to implement both public and private construction projects, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)..As per the Building Materials Price Index (BMPI), overall construction costs saw month-o

Bangladesh’s economy bounced back by posting significantly higher growth in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 compared to the same quarter in the previous year, underlining good progress in the production of industrial goods and agricultural commodities.

The government has initiated moves to correct the system to calculate national data in oder to avoid the repetition of the shock after the central bank reported a massive statistical mismatch linked to exports.

Development initiatives in Bangladesh normally take longer than usual to come to fruition. However, the project to set up a dozen hi-tech parks at the district level is moving at such a glacial pace that it may hold the government from attaining its vision of building a smart nation and readying the workforce for the digitalised world.

The tax administration backtracked from its decision to levy a 5 percent tax on incomes generated by manufacturers of motorcycles, air conditioners and refrigerators until 2032, raising it to the previous rate of 10 percent.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) exempted various goods and services from value-added tax (VAT) payments to the tune of Tk 129,570 crore in 2022 to give some relief to citizens and facilitate industrialisation, thereby accelerating economic growth.

The government has moved away from its decision to raise the highest income tax rate to 30 percent and end tax holidays for investors in economic zones and hi-tech parks.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) logged a year-on-year tax collection growth of nearly 15 percent in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year. 

The government has neglected to outline adequate initiatives in the proposed budget for the next fiscal year to support migrant workers, meaning the country may miss out on opportunities to raise remittance earnings on the back of a higher number of Bangladeshis going abroad.

The share of the total allocation for spending directly on poverty reduction has come down for the upcoming fiscal year despite persistently higher inflation, deepening the uncertainties of the poor.

Despite widespread condemnation from economists, watchdogs, businesspeople and even multiple lawmakers, the government is expected to retain the amnesty allowing individuals and businesses to whiten black money without scrutiny by paying a 15 percent tax in the upcoming fiscal year.

Bangladesh’s high youth unemployment rate necessitates specific remedial steps, including ways for employment generation and adoption of prerequisite education and training, which the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2024-25 did not include, according to analysts.