Businesses and experts have said that the proposed national budget for the 2025-26 financial year was overly ambitious, particularly regarding revenue targets, private investment, inflation control and GDP growth.
They noted a lack of necessary reforms in the tax structure to boost employment and investment, while allocations for health and education remained unchanged from those made by the previous government.
They were speaking at a post budget discussion titled 鈥楻eflection, Response and the Road Ahead: National Budget FY 2025-26鈥� organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh in the capital on Tuesday.
M Masrur Reaz, chairman of the Policy Exchange Bangladesh, presented the keynote.
In his keynote, Masrur Reaz said that the budget failed to provide clear direction on investment, employment and reform.
He described the revenue, private investment, inflation and GDP growth targets as excessively optimistic given current realities.
However, he applauded the government鈥檚 initiative to grant higher allowances to public officials but cautioned that the timing might not be appropriate.
He also criticised the limited measures aimed at boosting investment and job creation, especially noting the absence of initiatives targeting employment opportunities for rural women.
Zahid Hussain, former economist of the World Bank Dhaka Office, said that the revenue target set by the budget lacked a solid basis in reality.
He said that the National Board of Revenue had never achieved such ambitious targets.
He expressed scepticism about the inflation targets set in the budget.
Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said that the government had shown its efforts to balance unlimited demands against limited resources.
However, she argued, the allocations for social infrastructure, particularly in education and health sectors, remain insufficient and should be increased.
Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, special assistant to the chief adviser, stated that the previous government鈥檚 projects were free from costly inefficiencies.
He explained that reforms inevitably produced winners and losers: beneficiaries of the current system often resisted change, while those disadvantaged tended to support it.
He acknowledged that government reforms were ongoing, but progressing at a slow pace.
He said that the budget lacked a clear roadmap outlining the sequencing of reforms, making the process more complicated.
Nonetheless, initiatives like the National Single Window are underway to improve the business climate.
AmCham president Syed Ershad Ahmed highlighted some attempts to improve the tax system but emphasized that foreign investment would not increase unless law and order conditions improve.
He pointed out inefficiencies in customs clearance, where goods still require signatures from 17 different offices, and emphasized the urgent need for reforms in the logistical sector.