Budget not built on consensus, fails to take differing opinions into account: BNP

The BNP says the interim government has formulated its budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year without consulting the opinions of political parties and people from different walks of life.

BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury made the remark at a press conference on Wednesday to give the party's official reaction to the proposed budget.

He said, "The BNP is cooperating with this government in every field. We expected the interim government would formulate the budget by discussing it with the political parties that were part of the movement and establish a minimum national consensus.

“Opinions of people from different walks of life could have been taken -- experts, members of civil society, businessmen, and youth representatives could have also participated. Then the budget would have been a symbol of a comprehensive economic vision. This budget could have become a reflection of the different voices in the country."

"But that opportunity was not taken. The budget that was made would not have been so one-sided, non-participatory, or conventional... It would have reflected new thinking."

The press conference was held at the BNP Chairperson's Office in Gulshan. In addition to the official response to the proposed budget, Amir Khosru also presented an action plan on what kind of budget the BNP would propose if it came to power and the sectors it would prioritise.

On Monday, Financial Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed presented a Tk 7.9 trillion budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year in a speech on state broadcaster BTV.

Khosru said, "The main goal of the budget should have been to present a roadmap for increasing private investment. It was necessary to establish industrial factories, create employment, give priority to education, health, and agriculture for economic recovery.

“It was necessary to create more new entrepreneurs by supporting small, cottage and medium sectors. Additional taxes and duties, along with huge interest rates, will put a lot of pressure on industries."

"The productive sectors may be particularly affected. Many institutions may close, and employment will also decrease. If the financial pressure on the middle and lower classes increases, economic instability may rise. Progress in poverty alleviation may also come to a halt."

Khosru criticised the budget proposals in various sectors, including introducing taxes on private universities, medical colleges and schools, increasing taxes on online businesses, lack of incentives for ordinary investors in the capital market, and not halting unnecessary, corrupt and inefficient development projects.

He said that if the BNP comes to power in the future, educational institutions will remain under full tax exemption.

The BNP leader criticised the decision to retain the opportunity to launder black money. He said, "The opportunity to launder black money rewards tax evaders. This is injustice for regular taxpayers."

“Confidence in the tax system may decrease. Changes in tax rates and income tax slabs will further impact most taxpayers. As usual, instead of curbing tax evasion and fraud and expanding the tax net, the burden of taxes has been placed on the shoulders of the common people through VAT increases. The prices of goods have gone up. The standard of living is declining.”

Khosru said, “Currently, inflation is nearly in ‘two digits’. There is talk of reducing it to 6.5 percent, which does not seem realistic. The rate of increase in poverty could have been curbed.”

“World Bank data says that during the interim government’s tenure, more than 2.7 million people have become poorer than before. Of these, 1.8 million are women. Real incomes have declined as wage growth has lagged behind inflation.

“In addition to increasing poverty, it has also put pressure on consumer spending. Employment has decreased in almost all sectors, formal and informal, due to the stagnation of domestic and foreign investment. As a result, society is becoming more unequal and the number of poor people is increasing.”

He said, “According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, GDP growth in the 2024-25 fiscal year was 3.97 percent. In this year’s budget, it has been pegged at 5.6 percent, which is an unrealistic target on paper, like those put forward by the previous government.”

“Food security is under threat. An attempt has been made to increase allocations by including pensions and agricultural subsidies in the inadequate, flawed, and corrupt social security sector. But government allocations for social security remain inadequate. To date, social safety net programmes have not been rights-based.”