Budget at a glance

Despite repeated calls from educationists to increase the budget for education sector, the proposed allocation this fiscal year is still far behind the expected level.

Under the FY24-25 social safety net programme of Bangladesh, the pension for retired government employees and savings scheme interest payments account for nearly the same allocation as social assistance for the poor, the old and the disaster-struck.

The tax measures unveiled yesterday for 2024-25 are not going to provide any relief to taxpayers.

Default loans in the banking sector of Bangladesh hit an all-time high of Tk 182,295 crore, but no reform programme to reduce it has been announced in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The government has hiked the supplementary duty on mobile top-ups alongside VAT on SIM cards, pushing up costs that will be incurred by mobile and internet users, which will inevitably put a financial strain on access to essential services.

In yet another blow to stock market investors, the government plans to impose a capital gains tax on them from next fiscal year.

The new budget for the upcoming fiscal year is unlikely to provide respite from one of the longest spells of sustained inflation in Bangladesh as the government’s measures appear to be missing the impetus required to contain the price spiral.

The food ministry spent less in fiscal 2022-2023 compared to fiscal 2009-2010, according to data on expenditure over the last 13 years.

The government has slightly reduced the allocations for transport and power and energy compared to the outgoing fiscal year.

The trade-off between growth and inflation is pretty apparent. It implies loss of employment and income. The critical factor in this respect is the availability and effective use of the government's fiscal space.

The macroeconomic imperative was to tighten the budget, particularly the domestic financing component of the budget deficit.

The recently proposed national budget for FY25 has remained a widely speculated topic for the people of this country

They blame govt for focusing on imported solutions rather than own resources

A total expenditure of Tk 797,000 crore has been proposed with a total tax revenue of Tk 541,000 crore, resulting in a deficit of Tk 256,000 crore

Budget admits we are in a crisis, but offers no direction out of it

While the cost of living remains high, with the inflation rate hovering at over 9 percent throughout the year, no ray of hope came for the common people in the budget declared yesterday.

The tax rate on income from provident funds and other retirement funds, which are maintained by companies for their employees, will remain unchanged at 15 percent for the fiscal year 2024-25. 

After Finance Minister AH Mahmood Ali presented the proposed FY25 budget in the parliament today, political parties were divided on the subject, some terming it “practical”, while others calling it “unrealistic”, and “a new plan for looting”

Of the total deficit financing, Tk 90,700 crore will come from foreign sources while Tk 160,900 crore will come from domestic sources.