Private commercial banks need stronger legal backing rather than financial support in the next national budget to restore confidence in the banking sector and protect depositors, according to the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB).

The government should reduce import duties on solar equipment in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2026-27 to encourage wider adoption of renewable energy and help exporters meet international compliance requirements, said Vidiya Amrit Khan, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

The government should focus on stabilising businesses in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2026-27 rather than chasing ambitious growth targets, according to a top business leader, as he says confidence remains fragile at home and global risks are rising.

The business community wants to see the government prioritise energy security, banking stability and practical reforms in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2026-27, Taskeen Ahmed, the president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), has said.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) seeks at least 10 percent higher value-added tax (VAT) collection from businesses each year, regardless of whether their sales grow, according to Riad Mahmud, president of the Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC). He said the practice has created a “double whammy” for manufacturers already strained by years of overlapping economic shocks.

FY26 debt servicing to cost $30.59b, says IMF

The budget, by all accounts, will be a large one

The National Citizen Party is preparing a Tk 8,52,157 crore “shadow budget” for FY2026-27, prioritising education, healthcare, defence modernisation, employment generation and energy security.

The next budget should be smarter, not just larger in amount as before, said the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami yesterday.

The country is going through a difficult period due to both domestic and global shocks, and the upcoming national budget must respond to those mounting economic pressures while pushing through essential reforms, according to economists and business leaders.

The government should focus on reforms and higher productivity to restore economic growth and financial stability instead of relying on demand side expansion and populist measures, economists said yesterday.

The government is likely to reduce the advance income tax (AIT) on imported primary and industrial raw materials in the upcoming budget in a move aimed at easing cost pressures on businesses and consumers.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is on course to miss its annual revenue target for the current fiscal year, extending its run of shortfalls to a tenth straight year.

The government is likely to reintroduce a provision allowing the legalisation of undisclosed income through investment in selected sectors in the national budget for the next fiscal year.

Finance minister says

The Russia-Ukraine war and the US-Israeli war on Iran, along with the depreciation of the taka, have sharply raised production costs for Bangladeshi farmers, a prominent economist said yesterday, calling for agricultural subsidies to be more than doubled in the upcoming budget.

There is growing discussion that Bangladesh may consider introducing a wealth tax as part of efforts to raise domestic resources and strengthen government revenue.

Ahead of the national budget for FY2026–27, policy experts and rights activists at a dialogue yesterday called for an urgent overhaul of funding mechanisms to combat violence against women.

Of the total, Tk 1.90 lakh crore will come from government financing