Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed speaks to The Daily Star
For the first time, the planning ministry has used a digital budget planning system to categorise spending based on economic codes
The railway ministry, the power division, and the primary and mass education ministry will see the biggest chop.
Interest payments and subsidies have absorbed nearly half of Bangladesh’s total budget expenditure in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, underscoring growing fiscal stress and raising concerns over public finances.
Controlling inflation should be a top priority for the interim government.
The government is planning a series of measures in the upcoming national budget to alleviate the tax pressure on individuals and businesses, including raising the tax-free income threshold and relaxing certain compliance requirements.
Strengthen budget transparency to build public confidence
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.
Bangladesh’s national budget is now shrinking in relative size even as the government struggles to deliver on its development commitments.
Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed speaks to The Daily Star
For the first time, the planning ministry has used a digital budget planning system to categorise spending based on economic codes
The railway ministry, the power division, and the primary and mass education ministry will see the biggest chop.
Interest payments and subsidies have absorbed nearly half of Bangladesh’s total budget expenditure in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, underscoring growing fiscal stress and raising concerns over public finances.
Controlling inflation should be a top priority for the interim government.
The government is planning a series of measures in the upcoming national budget to alleviate the tax pressure on individuals and businesses, including raising the tax-free income threshold and relaxing certain compliance requirements.
Strengthen budget transparency to build public confidence
Bangladesh has continued to showcase a weak performance in the open budget rankings among its South Asian peers, reflecting a lack of transparency and accountability in the formulation and implementation of fiscal measures.
Bangladesh’s interim government is preparing to unveil a rare contractionary budget on June 2, driven by a sharp rise in interest payment that is crowding out fiscal space and forcing spending cuts.
Bangladesh must urgently redirect resources within its fragmented social protection system and scale up a handful of proven programmes that directly benefit the poorest, according to a leading economist.
