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Given the pandemic-induced economic slowdown, the revenue collection target for the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been revised downwards for the ongoing fiscal year, Rahman said.

The target is Tk 330,000 crore, the same as that of last fiscal.

He opined that attaining the target would be very challenging for the NBR and they must show utmost efficiency.

The proposed tax on mobile financial service (MFS) providers is not acceptable as it may have an adverse impact on the growing sector, said Rahman, also a former governor of the central bank.

Many poor people are highly dependent on the MFS providers to settle their transactions of small amounts, he said.

As per the proposed budget, the corporate tax levied on listed MFS providers may soar by 5 percentage points.

If the MFS provider is not listed, a 7.5 per cent increase in corporate tax has been suggested.

If the tax is imposed, the MFS providers may levy an additional charge on clients to adjust the cost, Rahman said.

The government agencies dedicatedly implementing social safety net programmes should strengthen their capacities to materialise the schemes efficiently, he said.

The government has allocated Tk 107,610 crore for the social protection schemes for the upcoming fiscal year, which is up 12 per cent but lower than the average 17 per cent growth of allocation between fiscals 2009-10 and 2021-22.

There is no list for the poor and the government should prepare a list of the urban ones immediately such that they can be brought under the social protection scheme, Rahman said.

AK Enamul Haque, an emeritus fellow of the organisation, said the social safety nets conventionally targeted those living below the poverty line.

Considering the current situation, safety nets are required for those living just above the poverty line, he said.

A universal pension scheme could be a good way to do so, he said.

Khondoker Shakhawat Ali, another emeritus fellow, said the budget proposal should have presented a clear timeframe for vaccinating the population.

The government should aim to vaccinate 70-80 per cent of the population within the coming fiscal year, he said.

To do so, the government should initially prioritise importing vaccines and then move to producing those, Ali said.