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Economic-policy analysts at the CPD see the interim government's maiden budget paradoxical to July spirit of equity for its customary fiscal measures and take exception to the black-money-whitening provision in particular.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) says although the proposed budget for the next fiscal year makes ambitious promises-such as reducing inequality, creating jobs through increased investment, and prioritizing human development over mere GDP growth-these commitments are not reflected in the actual allocations and initiatives.
They also note that the budget, formulated at a critical juncture, on the cusp of a political changeover, offered an opportunity for establishing tax fairness, boosting revenue collection, and initiating major reforms with genuine intent to address the fragile economy. But the government "failed" to seize it.
The remarks were made Tuesday from a media briefing titled 'CPD's Analysis of the National Budget FY2025-26', held at a hotel in the capital to present a detailed analysis of the proposed budget.
Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow at the CPD, said the proposed budget also fails to address another core demand of the July movement-employment generation alongside building an inequality-free society.
He notes that the budget lacks a guaranteed employment scheme and falls short of introducing effective measures to integrate the large youth population 'Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET)' into the mainstream economy.
"Employment will be created through investment," he said, but while public investment is set to decline slightly, there is also no clear roadmap to boost private investment to meet the budgetary goal.
Earlier on Monday, Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed presented the national budget titled 'Building an Equitable and Sustainable Economic System' to be implemented in the next fiscal year with a total outlay of Tk 7.90 trillion.
Presenting the keynote, Dr Fahmida Khatun criticised the budget, describing it as a remnant of the " autocratic regime that " due to its provision allowing the legalisation of undisclosed money.
Calling for its complete withdrawal she said it "entirely unacceptable" as it undermines the morale of honest taxpayers and effectively penalises law-abiding citizens.
Dr Fahmida notes that the new budget comes at a time of ongoing economic challenges, with macro-indicators showing growing fragility over the past three years.
"While some policies have brought limited stability, the budget's key focus should be on curbing persistent inflation and restoring overall economic stability."
Despite some progress in the macroeconomic landscape, she points out, the economy continues to face major challenges, including revenue shortfalls, restrained public spending, low ADP implementation, heavy reliance on bank borrowing, inflationary pressures, high non-performing loans, weak private investment, slowing economic growth, and unmet energy and power demand.
However, some of goals in terms of GDP growth, rising investment, tackling inflation set in the budget would be difficult to get to because of the current status of such indicators.
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