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Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said other than increasing the allocation for healthcare, ensuring effective and efficient spending is crucial.

Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said they lost $6 billion worth of business over the last year due to the ongoing pandemic. “And so, recovery will take much longer than expected,” he said while seeking the continuation of government support for the sector.

Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute, said Tk 15,000 crore should be allocated for the health sector in the upcoming national budget.

He also urged the government to ensure vaccination for everyone in the country as soon as possible.

Rizwan Rahman, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, demanded that corporate tax be reduced by 2.5 per cent annually for the next three years to make it 25 per cent overall.

“Although it is very necessary, it is also quite difficult to understand whether the tax net has increased or not over the past few years,” said Rupali Chowdhury, president of the Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mashiur Rahman, the prime minister’s adviser on economic affairs, said non-governmental organisations should play a vital role in healthcare issues.

ICAB President Mhamudul Hasan Khusru, ERF President Sharmeen Rinvy and General Secretary Rashedul Islam also spoke at the event, moderated by Md Humayun Kabir, chairman of TCLC and a former ICAB president.

DCCI President Rizwan Rahman suggested reduction of corporate tax rate progressively by 2.5 per cent in the next three years to bring down the rate to 25 per cent to facilitate businesses.

Coming down heavily on the scope for whitening undisclosed money, he said that the business community would not accept such provision for whitening the money coming from ‘burglary’.

“Otherwise, the honest businesses will not feel encourage to pay tax from the next year,” he added.