Economists on Saturday said that the country’s tax-GDP ratio would not increase if scams in energy and banking sectors continued in association with illegal capital flights.
They also observed that the current fixed interest policy should be suspended for checking inflation.
The observation came at a discussion titled ‘Addressing Post-Covid Challenges’ organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies on the concluding day of its three-day annual conference in the capital.
In his address, professor MM Akash, chairman of the Department of Economics at Dhaka University, said that the country’s tax-GDP ratio was one of the lowest in South Asia.
He added that the government was facing challenges to increase the ratio amid scams in energy and banking sectors and illegal capital flights.
Policy Research Institute vice-chairman Sadiq Ahmed who started the discussion criticized the government-fixed lending rates, saying that the policy only benefitted the industrialists and caused inflation hurting the poor.
Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister, however, called the lending rate at 9 per cent and savings rate at 6 per cent a tool for domestic investment.
Referring to the Bangladesh Bank policy, he said that the cap on the rates could be removed gradually.
Businesses who also took part in the…
