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Thursday June 29, 3:00 PMBangladesh parliament approves 2006 finance billDHAKA, June 29 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's parliament has approved the finance bill for 2006, covering the government's budget of just over $10 billion for the year to next June.Parliament passed the bill on Wednesday night and was expected to formally adopt the 2006/07 budget on Thursday, officials said. The budget for the new fiscal year (July-June) was proposed in parliament by Finance Minister M. Saifur Rahman on June 8. Saifur told parliament on Wednesday that only 12 percent of the funding for the budget would come from international aid donors, reflecting the government's growing capacity to finance its spending. The new budget includes a robust revenue target -- a 17 percent rise over the current year to 525.42 billion taka (US$7.5 billion). Saifur did not propose any new taxes for 2006/07, saying he aimed to boost revenue through better management. The finance minister said a key focus of the proposed budget was to reduce poverty, which still grips nearly half of the country's 140 million people, who have to survive on less than a dollar a day. Saifur said some 2.2 million people would be brought into an old-age allowance scheme within the next two years. He defended a recent increase in fuel prices, more than 22 percent on average, saying the rise was low compared to other countries. (US$1 = 69.67 taka) |
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