Rise in tax, VAT to make life tougher

The proposed tax increase in the budget for fiscal year 2010-11 will make life harder for lower income group people, and swell the population below the poverty line, said the main opposition in parliament BNP.
In its first official reaction yesterday after the announcement of the budget, BNP said the budget is inadequate for the country's requirements, but also described it as ambitious considering the government's implementation ability.
It said the budget is high-sounding and fanciful which will never solve the real problems.
BNP Standing Committee Member MK Anwar read out a written statement at a media conference in party Chairperson Khaleda Zia's Gulshan office in the afternoon.
Except for some essentials, industrial raw materials, and capital machinery, advance income taxes on others have been increased to five percent from three. As a result, prices of around 3,000 items will go up, said Anwar.
VAT (value added tax) on small and mid-size businesses has been increased from one and a half percent to three, which will become an extra burden for consumers, he added.
BNP also thinks the government is playing hide and seek regarding the scope for money whitening.
The statement also said the budget does not have a long-term plan for power generation.
The government has institutionalised corruption in the country and even took initiatives to make the Anti-corruption Commission bow down to it, the statement added.
Though in the last budget speech, BNP had been blamed for its failure in all sectors, it was an exception this time not to mention anything against the party in the first 90 pages, the main opposition noted.
"But finally the finance minister could not keep himself from drawing a conclusion by making some irresponsible, indecent, and false statements against BNP," the statement said.
Commenting on some other matters, BNP said, "Introduction of student councils at the primary level will have a negative impact on the education system of the country."
It said normalcy will not return to educational institutions across the country unless the government stops politicising the sector.
It also said journalists will not have the courage to unveil corruption as the government maintains a tight rein on the media by shutting down newspapers and television channels.
Former education minister Osman Farruq, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, former FBCCI chief Abdul Awal Mintoo, and BNP Standing Committee Member Abdul Moyeen Khan were also present.