Muhith placing Tk 468,000cr mega budget

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has started presenting the national budget for the 2018-19 fiscal in Parliament.

The Finance Minister began the rolling out the budget around 12:53pm.

This is the last budget of the Awami League-led coalition’s second successive term in power and also be the 12th budget for Muhith personally. 

Earlier, around 12:15 pm, President Abdul Hamid authenticated the national budget and the revised budget for placing before the Jatiya Sangsad.

On Monday, while talking to reporters, Muhith wished for higher revenue earnings, encouraged by the number of taxpayers having reached almost 3.3 million, with a large chunk of the newly registered ones being young people. 

“I feel very good after 10 years,” Muhith said, adding that people were unwilling to pay taxes due to harassment when he started. “I don’t think it exists anymore in the country.”

The revenue collection target for the coming fiscal year is likely to be fixed at Tk 340,775 crore, up 18 percent from the Tk 287,990 crore set for the current, outgoing fiscal. 

However, Finance Ministry officials said the revenue target will be fixed in such a way so that the budget deficit remains within 5 percent.

Source: unb