The announcement made by the finance minister about appointing a tax ombudsman in the proposed budget should be made clear and implemented accordingly, said the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in its post-budget reaction.

The country's apex trade body at an emergency meeting with its President Abdul Awal Mintoo in the chair hailed the proposed budget and gave a 23-point proposal, said a press statement issued by the FBCCI yesterday.

Keeping the highest tax slab at 25 percent, it said, duty on industrial raw materials should be fixed at five percent.

It is necessary to reduce subsidy in the state-owned enterprises and cut expenditure in the revenue budget.

Bangladesh is one of the signatories to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and a huge local and foreign investment will be needed to achieve different targets under the MDGs.

It means the country has to increase the income of around 50 million people to place them over the poverty line by 2015 and it is a big challenge, the statement added.

For the first time, the FBCCI thinks, the proposed budget can be considered a strong political commitment in reducing poverty and achieving the MDGs. Political determination will play a crucial role in materialising these issues.

The FBCCI proposed a Tk 25 crore budget allocation to make the Anti-corruption Commission more effective.

It also proposed to withdraw supplementary duty keeping the highest import duty on sugar for the sake of local industry.

Besides, the FBCCI urged the government to form a monetary policy commission, which will be responsible for looking into money supply and loan sanction policies.

Establishing a good governance is essential for the development of socio-economic condition, facilitating business, increasing investment and reducing poverty, it said adding that the proposed budget did not give any clear direction to address these key issues.

The FBCCI, however, said the desired economic growth and rural development goals, which are the main targets in the proposed budget, will be hampered if non-economic factors such as law and order situation and governance are not improved.