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They urge the interim government to review IMF loan terms and restart the TCB's subsidised sales
Published : 11 Jan 2025, 04:37 PM
The National Citizens’ Committee has demanded the immediate withdrawal of two ordinances issued by the interim government which increased duties, taxes, and value added tax on over a hundred essential products and services.
The committee also urged the government to resume the discontinued process of selling subsidised goods via trucks through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, or TCB.
Speaking at a press conference at the committee's central office in Dhaka’s Banglamotor on Saturday, Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain announced the demands.
He also called on the interim government to reconsider the conditions of the loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund, or IMF.
On Jan 10, the interim government issued two ordinances raising VAT and supplementary duties on essential goods and services, including medicine, LPG, powdered milk, and mobile SIM use.
Akhtar said, "Recently, the government issued two ordinances to increase VAT and supplementary duties on over a hundred goods and services to boost revenue. This will lead to inflation and higher business costs, adversely affecting people's living standards."
He emphasised that while expanding the tax net is a normal process for increasing revenue, it should not degrade people's living standards or increase their hardships.
Criticising the previous government as “illegitimate” and its economic policies as “anti-people,” he said: "The general populace and middle class are in a most vulnerable state due to the economic policies and rampant capital flight under the previous government. Families impoverished by the COVID-19 pandemic relocated to villages and haven't returned to the cities."
Akhtar questioned whether the new government had reviewed the IMF loan conditions agreed upon by the previous government.
He stressed that the current government, formed through a mass uprising, should not perpetuate the hardships caused by agreements made by an “illegitimate regime”.
The member secretary of the committee criticised the suspension of subsidised sales through TCB trucks as "degrading."
He remarked: "The TCB operates truck sales to ensure that the poor can purchase essential goods at subsidised prices.”
“We've witnessed citizens standing in long queues for hours to save a mere Tk 5-10 on rice, lentils, oil, and sugar. The closure of these truck sales strips the marginalised of even this basic right. It’s inconceivable how disconnected the government must be to impose such a decision on its people," he said.
The National Citizens’ Committee made two demands - the immediate withdrawal of the VAT and supplementary duty ordinances and the resumption of TCB’s truck sales.
Akhtar proposed alternative measures to restore the economy, such as increasing direct taxes, which would not harm the general people.
He urged the government to curb corruption in the current tax structure to boost revenue.
He also called for the recovery of $234 billion allegedly laundered abroad over the past 15 years and the collection of defaulted loans, which have risen to over Tk 2 trillion.
Akhtar urged the government not to push people further into hardship, saying: "Do not take actions that will increase the suffering of the general populace, who overthrew a tyrannical regime with their blood."
