Customer will have to pay more for products and service bought from one's mobile phone as the government yesterday introduced a 5 percent value-added tax on those from next fiscal year and also raised the surcharge on handset imports.

It looks like another repeat story. We had a big budget that failed to achieve its targets. Now we are pushing for a bigger one with higher targets. But with the ground reality remaining the same, are we to see a story foretold for the next year?

Interest payments get the fourth highest allocation, which is also higher than the combined allocation for health, social security and welfare in the proposed budget for 2018-19.

Samidul Haque obtained a BBA degree from a private university a year ago.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith presented the FY2018-19 national budget to parliament yesterday. This is a historic event in the sense that it is his tenth consecutive budget that reflects the continuity in fiscal management.

BNP strongly criticises the budget Finance Minister AMA Muhith placed in the parliament, saying it is imaginary and aimed to gain popularity ahead of the election.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposes introduction of new provisions in the tax laws over the taxation of virtual and digital sectors, such as Facebook, Google, Youtube, on their incomes earned in Bangladesh.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith says, though the country has achieved remarkable successes under his 10 years' tenure, the cherished dream still remains elusive.

Terming the proposed budget “traditional”, Raushon Ershad, leader of the opposition in the parliament, says there is nothing new in it.

Owners of two motor cars or houses with an aggregate area of eight thousand square feet in a city corporation will have to pay 10 percent surcharge, Finance Minister AMA Muhith says in his budget speech.

There is nothing new for individual taxpayers in the upcoming fiscal as the Finance Minister opted to stick to his previous stance.

The government allocates Tk 1,498 crore for the Youth and Sports Ministry in the proposed budget for fiscal year 2018-19, Tk 307 crore up from the revised budget of the last fiscal year.

The government proposes raising allocation in the education sector by 11 percent to Tk 53,054 crore for the next fiscal year compared to the revised allocation in the outgoing fiscal year.

Energy drink and cigarette-bidi papers prices are expected to go up with the additional supplementary duty proposed in the budget for fiscal 2018-19.

Imported mobile phone handsets will be costlier as Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposes to increase 1 percentage point surcharge in his budget speech for fiscal 2018-19.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposes to allocate Tk 400 crore in 2018-19 fiscal to support insolvent war-wounded and sick freedom-fighters or their spouses, children or grand-children.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposes to borrow Tk 42,029 crore from the banking sources to manage the deficit financing.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposes changes to duties on different products, which will result in increase and decrease in their prices.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposes a Tk1,37,742 crore allocation for women's development in the fiscal year 2018-19, which is 29.65 per cent of the total budget and 5.34 per cent of the GDP.

Corporate tax for the readymade garments units will be hiked to 15 per cent, what Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposes in his budget for fiscal 2018-19.