Md Asaduz Zaman

The interim government is set to introduce a wide range of tax and duty reforms in the upcoming fiscal year to facilitate the country’s smooth graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status and drive economic growth.

Exports and remittances are climbing, foreign exchange reserves have steadied, and the exchange rate has shown signs of stability

These include steps to reduce the cost of doing business and align tax policies with the requirements of LDC graduation

In order to provide relief to small savers, the government is likely to increase the excise duty exemption threshold for bank deposits in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2025-26.

In a bid to discourage the use of plastic, the interim government may double the value-added tax (VAT) on some synthetic household products such as tableware and kitchenware to 15 percent.

NBR is facing paralysis over the recent bifurcation ordinance.

After five years, the income tax rate for the highest bracket is likely to revert to 30 percent in the upcoming fiscal year as part of the government’s efforts to address growing inequality — an issue that is among the country’s major economic concerns.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is expected to continue the prospective tax system until fiscal year 2027-28, allowing taxpayers and businesses to determine applicable tax rates in advance instead of waiting until the end of the income year.

The government is planning a series of measures in the upcoming national budget to alleviate the tax pressure on individuals and businesses, including raising the tax-free income threshold and relaxing certain compliance requirements.

The upcoming national budget must outline a comprehensive roadmap to prepare for the country’s graduation from the least developed country (LDC) club in 2026, prioritising tariff rationalisation, tax reform, and sustainable fiscal policies, according to a leading business leader.

The interim government is set to slash the development budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2025-26 by 14 percent year-on-year, as it struggles with limited fiscal space and steers away from costly mega-projects.

Falling food prices over recent months have helped cool inflation further in April, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), with economists attributing the easing of price pressures to post-festival effects.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has set a target to raise Bangladesh’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 10.5 percent by the fiscal year 2034-35, as part of its newly formulated 10-year revenue strategy, according to official documents.

Touted as a historic overhaul, the move has ignited debate over whether it will drive meaningful reform or merely deepen the layers of bureaucracy, given the NBR's persistent failure to meet its targets.

NBR still needs Tk 65,000cr per month to hit IMF target for FY25

The new target has raised eyebrows, given the underwhelming performance in revenue collection so far

The prospect of reduced tax benefits has rattled exporters, already wrestling with shifting global trade dynamics, including fresh US tariffs

After declining for each of the past three months, overall inflation in Bangladesh increased slightly in March, driven by an uptick in non-food prices, government data shows.

"Bangladesh generates a negligible amount of revenue from taxes levied on goods imported from the United States"

Business leaders and economists have called upon the government to initiate immediate high-level negotiations with the United States administration following President Donald Trump’s imposition of reciprocal tariffs, warning that failure to secure concessions could erode the nation’s competitive edge in its most lucrative export market.