ED: Aiming to please

The 2021-2022 budget unveiled by the government is one that definitely gets several things right, and will, without a doubt, benefit a significant chunk of the population, especially in these troubled times.

The budget, valued at Tk603,681 crore, is about 17.4% of GDP and has been designed in accordance with the recent hit the economy has taken due to the global pandemic.

Businesses small and large will see great incentives in terms of tax cuts -- significant corporate tax cuts will see companies unlisted in the stock exchange paying a tax rate of 30% (as opposed to 32.5%) whereas listed organizations will see a drop from 25% to 22.5%.

Furthermore, and what is especially pleasing to see, is the government’s decision to give tax breaks to organizations whose employees comprise 10% or 100 people belonging to the transgender community, which will undoubtedly create a far more inclusive economy than before, and pave the way towards the employment of thousands of transgender people across the nation. In general, we have seen the government increase the size of the social safety net which has kept so many people buoyant during the pandemic.

We are also seeing an education sector rise from Tk66,401cr last year to Tk71,951cr this year, showing the government’s willingness to invest in the education system, one that has for the longest time required revision. 

However, this is still not up to the mark -- our neighbouring countries, some of which are poorer, invest a far larger a percentage of their annual budget to the education sector, but the increase in funds is better than nothing.  

While a budget remains a complex entity, and there are definitely things the budget gets wrong, the government has tried to please the people by providing breaks. In this regard, the government would do well to balance the budget out through aid, grants, or foreign investment, which is another highly complex matter.