94pc mangoes of capital formalin-treated (New Age, June 12, 2013)
A study has found excessive formalin in seasonal fruits like mangoes, litchis and blackberries sold at shops in different areas of the capital. Even shops with signboards reading “chemical-free fruits” sell fruits soaked in formalin. Save the Environment Movement (SEM) revealed the findings of the study after running formalin tests on fruits from shops in 26 areas on June 1-10. It found that around 94 percent of the mangoes and 100 percent blackberries and litchis were contaminated with formalin. The high rates were attributed to fewer mobile court drives and police support. Formalin, a 37 percent water solution of formaldehyde, is poisonous and can cause cancer. Traders use this chemical as a preservative and to make fruits and vegetables look fresh for longer periods.
Mobile banking carving a niche (The Daily Star, June 11, 2013)
Mobile
banking has garnered quite an appeal among Bangladeshis, especially to those
living in the rural areas. Convenience
plays an important role as anyone can transfer money, receive salary or pay
bills from a bank account, simply by using a mobile phone. According to
Bangladesh Bank, around Tk 121.25 crore is transacted each day through mobile banking
services. More people without any prior banking history are joining formal
banking activities through mobile phone. As of April, the country had 52.54
lakh mobile banking subscribers, while the total number of agents providing
such services was at 83,638.
New economic zones yet to see progress (The Daily Star, June 11, 2013)
The government passed the Bangladesh Economic
Zones Act in August in 2010 to expand export processing zones throughout the
country, but there has been much delay in formulating the regulations to support
this new law. There are currently eight export processing zones in Bangladesh housing
foreign and joint venture investors, but there is a recognized need for
more. Vietnam has over 400 economic
zones and China, Malaysia and Indonesia also have hundreds of these zones for both
their local and foreign investors. An official of Bangladesh Economic Zones
Authority said foreign investors will not wait for years to invest in
Bangladesh and will take their capital to other countries. He also said that
growth of most factories are not regulated, which is why they are mushrooming
in the capital and its fringe areas. The majority of these are housed in multipurpose
buildings at risk of fatal accidents.
Money hardly whitens (The Daily Star, June 10, 2013)
The widely condemned proposed amnesty
on undisclosed money in the real estate sector will not just “whiten” black
money, but it will create additional black money. An investigation by The Daily Star has found
that buyers often show a much lower value of property during registration to
evade paying taxes, resulting in new illegal/unaccounted for money. According
to an official of Tejgaon Land Office, “Government revenue from land tax would have
been 10 times higher if the actual price of property were taken into account.”
In addition, analysts say that amnesty on black money in the real estate sector
will also pushed up property prices. Furthermore,
the benefits of such “whitening” proposals might be over rated. According to National Board of Revenue data,
a total of Tk 13,516 crore was whitened between 1971 and April 2013, and the
government received only Tk 1,407 crore as tax. Ahsan H Mansur, executive
director of Policy Research Institute suggested introducing capital gains tax
to prevent tax evasion and under-pricing of property values.
Chief factory inspector changed (New Age, June 11, 2013)
The
labor ministry has replaced the chief inspector of factories and suspended
seven factory inspectors for renewing the licenses of the factories at Rana
Plaza without inspecting the site in person. Of the five factories, Ether Tex
had been operating without any license from the factory inspection department
since 2008. The building that housed the factories collapsed on April 24
killing at least 1,127 people. Of the seven inspectors, three had approved the
renewal of the license of Tazreen Fashions Ltd. without paying a visit to the
factory.
Budget surreal, says CPD (The Financial Express, June 8, 2013)
The
Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has termed the proposed budget as “surreal”
and justified their statement by pointing out the chasm between the income and
expenditure.
The
think-tank also termed the GDP growth target as “radical”, citing the present
scenario of faltering investment and domestic demand, low industrial
productivity, a weak international economy and declining domestic savings. The
CPD termed the revenue target “ambitious” as it based on the outgoing fiscal
year’s target, not the actual collection. The think-tank expressed its doubts about
the country’s achieving a 22 percent revenue growth target next year. Moreover,
the government received $2 billion foreign aid in the outgoing fiscal year, and
yet it has set a target of $3.8 billion for the next year, which CPD thinks
would be impossible to get.
Investment ceiling for small businesses to
go up (The Daily Star, June 7, 2013)
The government plans to give tax exemption benefits to more small entrepreneurs with an increase in capital investment and annual turnover limit. It means entrepreneurs making investment of up to Tk 40 lakh on plants, machines, or equipment will receive the exemption, up from Tk 25 lakh. Those having an annual turnover of Tk 60 lakh will also enjoy the tax benefit, up from Tk40 lakh.
Ceiling now Tk 2.20 lakh (The Daily Star, June 7, 2013)
The government has raised the ceiling of tax-free income in the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. The finance minister said that he took into account factors like inflation and rising living expenses before proposing a reduction in the tax liability of marginal taxpayers.
· For citizens: From Tk. 2 lakh to Tk. 2.20 lakh.
· For senior citizens and women the threshold has been increased from Tk. 2.25 lakh to Tk. 2.50 lakh.
·
For physically-challenged
taxpayers from Tk. 2.75 lakh to Tk. 3 lakh.
Bangladesh Budgets 2004-2013: A Decade of Government Spending (This article was first published in Dhaka Tribune on June 8, 2013)
Bangladesh’s budget has changed significantly
in the last decade, and the country’s budgets have grown extraordinarily along
with the country’s economy. Core challenges include debt risks and high
non-development expenditure that will not produce dividends in the future. The proposed budget (of Tk.222,491 crore) at a glance:
- The budget has a deficit of Tk.55,032 crore of which Tk.21,068 crore may come from foreign sources and the rest from the domestic ones, mostly by borrowing from the banking sector.
- The revenue earning target has been set at Tk.167,459 crore,
- Annual development programmes are set to get Tk. 65,870 crore.
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