Finance ministers don’t possess crystal balls to captivate the audience with mystical allure. They don’t have magical foresight. They are real-world agents of economic policy. In times of crisis, which often repeats itself in modern capitalism, they chart a path out of the dark abyss. Sometimes they prove to be successful, sometimes not.

The budget for the upcoming fiscal year, presented in the context of inordinately complex economic circumstances, reflects both the government’s restraint and limitations.

The proposed budget for 2024-25 lacks creativity and offers no solutions to the many complex challenges facing the country’s economy, economists have said.

Backtracking on its promise to eliminate black money, the government has once again made room to allow both individuals and companies to whiten money without facing scrutiny and by paying a 15 percent tax, a move that drew sharp criticism from economists and civil society.

In its first proposed budget after assuming power for a fourth consecutive term, the Awami League government skirted round some of the promises the party made in its election manifesto for the January 7 parliamentary polls.

Budget at a glance

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.

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.

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

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

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. This is upsetting for the low and middle-income groups of society. 

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.

The budget for fiscal 2024-25 proposes a total expenditure of Tk 797,000 crore with a total tax revenue of Tk 541,000 crore, resulting in a deficit of Tk 256,000 crore.

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

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

All government officials who will be recruited after July 1 next year will be incorporated in the universal pension scheme

Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has proposed to set aside a special allocation of Tk 100 crore for climate change and environmental protection in the national budget for the fiscal year 2024-25

Proposes budget; operators welcome the move