Rich & energy pricing

If the diesel price is increased by, say Tk 5 per litre, the cost of operation for a diesel bus per km per passenger will increase by a fraction of a paisa. But the fare the passenger pays will be increased by a rounded up taka or more! And after a session with the minister it may increase further. The owners/workers associations (headed by lawmakers of all colours) will tell all sorts of stories and the minister will listen to them.

Secondly, are the enhanced income of the bus owners or for that matter the filling station owners are ever taken into consideration by taxation authorities? There are some very rich people who are openly investing in high budget projects. Is our widely admired NBR chief aware of that? If they pay even one-tenth of due tax our state coffer will swell considerably.

Mr. Rambaugh is probably a very good economist but does he have the special education to know the strange ways of Bangladesh politics? Here the rich can ascend the peak of power easily. This may be the first lesson for him.