The government with the budget, proposed for the fiscal year starting next month, is needlessly striving to get IMF’s $4.7 billion loans with tax hikes when the sum can be easily sourced domestically through checks on corruption, AB Party said in its reaction Monday.

Cuts on exorbitant development spending as well as control over oligarchs and loan defaulters, would also help boost government revenues, said leaders of Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party claiming that instead oligarchs have been allowed to go scot-free with a black money whitening provision.

The party held a media briefing on Monday afternoon at its central office for expressing its opinion about the budget that is “full of fake numbers and jargons.”

Given that the proposed budget is debt and deficit based, the government has no option but to seek budgetary assistance from local banks and international donor agencies to feed its deficit.

In reality, the authoritarian regime itself is to blame for the country’s current economic situation. The regime’s endless loot and plunder crippled the nation’s economy, the worst in the country's lifetime, and pushed the country into perpetual debt trap, they said.

“Our repeated warning about the loan sharks was hardly listened to,” party leaders added.

The party’s Joint Convener Retired major Prof Dr Abdul Wahab Minar, Member Secretary Mojibur Rahman Monju, Joint Member Secretary Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuaad and the party’s women wing chief Barrister Nasreen Sultana Mily were, among others, present at the briefing.

The GDP growth target is proposed at 6.7% when the growth in the current fiscal year is just around 5.8%, while the persistent data manipulation by the government makes even the second figure harder to believe, they alleged at the briefing.

“Revenue collection plan is ridden with issues. While the NBR has never managed to raise over $30bn, it has been given a target to raise around $50 in the next financial year all the while sluggish economic activities continue to hurt tax collection prospects.”

The tax burden upon the working and middle earning people already looks unbearable with inflation running at 9%, as per government’s own data. In reality, inflation stays within the 20%-40% range for different daily commodities at different times of the year.

Poorer families and vulnerable groups like women and children would be hard hit, said Barrister Mily.

Furthermore, the ever increasing number of loan defaulters puts strain on domestic investment as banks are made empty and cash strapped. The budget plan has no guideline on addressing and containing the oligarchs who are all too loyal to this regime, party leaders alleged.