With prices of mobile phones and broadband internet set to go up in the next fiscal year, the proposed budget would not be favourable to further development of the ICT sector, experts have said.

Activist Mizanur Rahman walked out of the DB office in the capital’s Minto Road yesterday, six hours after he was picked up.

Withdrawal of the existing 5 percent advance tax on gold import has been proposed in the budget for fiscal 2022-23 to encourage import of the precious metal through formal channel and discourage its smuggling.

The proposed budget placed in parliament yesterday is geared towards attracting private sector investment to create employment and to expand business, but some proposals need to be reconsidered, said economists and businesspeople.

The government has proposed an allocation of Tk 82,745 crore to run its subsidy programme for 2022-23, an increase of 53.7 percent from this fiscal year’s original outlay, creating a challenge to macroeconomic stability.

The proposed budget did not offer any new way out for the recovery of learning loss of millions of students caused by the Covid-19 pandemic through school closures.

Let’s consider, for the ease of understanding, that the government has proposed an expenditure plan involving Tk 100. In this

People will require to submit the proof of submission of their income tax returns in order to get more than 40 types of services, including loans and trade licence, as the National Board of Revenue looks to raise more taxes.

The tax-free income limit for individuals has been kept unchanged at Tk 300,000 for the next fiscal year. The threshold for women, senior citizens, individuals belonging to the third gender, physically challenged persons and wounded freedom fighters also did not see any change.

China and Russia took aim at the United States during a landmark UN General Assembly session on Wednesday, accusing Washington of stoking tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The new budget provides nothing for the uncle next-door who has spent his life pinching pennies in a rented flat, nothing for the millennial slogging away 60 hours a week and still wondering how to pay for their second child’s school fees, nothing for the mother hesitating to buy beef for a special day.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said he would run in next year’s presidential vote and brushed aside rumours of a snap poll in the economically-battered nation.

The proposed budget has not properly addressed the pressing issues – higher inflation and the US dollar crisis -- that are causing immense macroeconomic imbalances, said economists in their immediate reaction.

The government is planning to invest $80 billion to shift the country from climate-vulnerable to a sustainable climate-resilient country under Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) by 2030, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said yesterday while unveiling the national budget for the fiscal year 2022-2023.

The government yesterday increased the price of soybean oil by Tk 5 to Tk 7 per litre, dashing the hopes of the edible oil market in Bangladesh cooling off anytime soon.

Ukrainian forces yesterday claimed to have pushed forward in intense street fighting in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, but said their only hope to turn the tide was more artillery to offset Russia’s massive firepower.

The budget proposed in parliament yesterday is geared toward attracting private sector investment to create employment and expand businesses, but some proposals need to be reconsidered, said economists and businesspeople.

Another member of Sri Lanka’s ruling family quit public office yesterday, denying responsibility for an economic crisis that has caused severe hardship in the island nation.

Money laundered out of the country can be legalised in exchange of seven to fifteen percent tax under a new proposal aimed to boost revenue as well as mobilise foreign currency. 

Amid the Russia-Ukraine war and global food price hike, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed emphasis on boosting food production to ensure food security in the country.