Bangladesh’s approach to budgeting for health and education has come under sharp scrutiny, as decades of allocations have primarily gone towards construction. Meanwhile, the core of these sectors, service delivery, has been historically neglected.

Bangladesh’s upcoming national budget, set to be unveiled by the interim government in June, could mark a rare departure from past fiscal cycles.

In a country weighed down by high inflation, dwindling fiscal space and weak investments, now is not the time for illusions.

Bangladesh’s national budget is now shrinking in relative size even as the government struggles to deliver on its development commitments.

Bangladesh’s fiscal deficit is projected to remain above 4 percent of GDP through 2026, as revenue growth continues to fall short of expanding public expenditure.

The interim government is set to slash the development budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2025-26 by 14 percent year-on-year, as it struggles with limited fiscal space and steers away from costly mega-projects.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) yesterday said there was no scope to reduce corporate or individual tax rates in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, a stance that businesses opposed.

"Rather, we want a non-discriminatory tax regime for all sectors.”

CPD’s emphasis on macroeconomic stability amid LDC graduation concerns

Restoring macroeconomic stability should be the top priority for policymakers amid a challenging environment for the interim government, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) wrote in its budget recommendations yesterday.