Government Set to Present Record Tk 9.38 Trillion Budget Focused on Growth and Inflation Control

The government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is set to place the largest national budget in Bangladesh’s history before Parliament today, proposing an outlay of Tk 938,000 crore for the 2026–27 fiscal year.

The proposed budget will be the country’s 55th national budget and the first under the current administration. Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury will present the budget in Parliament on Thursday (June 11), marking his first budget speech as finance minister.

The budget is expected to prioritize economic recovery, inflation control, employment generation, and long-term development planning. Key sectors receiving special attention include infrastructure, education, healthcare, and human resource development.

For the upcoming fiscal year, the government plans to allocate nearly Tk 300,000 crore for the Annual Development Programme (ADP). Of this amount, around Tk 199,000 crore will come from domestic resources, while Tk 110,000 crore is expected from foreign assistance and project financing.

Subsidies and incentives for electricity, gas, fertilizer, and food sectors are projected to range between Tk 117,000 crore and Tk 120,000 crore as part of efforts to support economic stability and public welfare.

The government has set an ambitious revenue collection target of Tk 695,000 crore, with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) expected to contribute Tk 604,000 crore. VAT and income tax collections will remain the primary sources of revenue growth.

Despite the revenue targets, the budget is expected to face a deficit of approximately Tk 243,000 crore. To finance the gap, the government plans to borrow from both domestic and foreign sources, including significant borrowing from the banking sector.

Several tax and duty adjustments proposed in the budget may increase the prices of cigarettes, nicotine products, imported cashew nuts, frozen fish, foreign cosmetics, and MS rods. However, tax incentives for domestic electronics manufacturing, including refrigerators, air conditioners, mobile phones, and laptops, are expected to continue.

To ease pressure on consumers, the government plans to reduce source tax rates on the supply of 60 agricultural commodities, including rice, wheat, potatoes, onions, and edible oil.

One of the most notable features of the budget is the introduction of a five-year income tax roadmap for individual taxpayers. Under the proposal, the tax-free income threshold will increase from Tk 350,000 to Tk 375,000, with plans to gradually raise it to Tk 450,000 in the coming years.

Officials believe the proposed reforms will help create a more stable and predictable tax system. However, controlling inflation, achieving record revenue targets, and managing the large fiscal deficit will remain the government’s biggest economic challenges in the next fiscal year.