FY27 budget 'unrealistic, overly ambitious, conducive to looting': Jamaat

Published : Friday, 12 June, 2026 at 4:25 PM Count : 16

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has said the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2026-27 is “unrealistic, overly ambitious and conducive to looting”, alleging that it falls short of public expectations and would ultimately encourage corruption while undermining investment and employment.

Instead of a people-centric, well-planned and implementable budget, the government had presented a fiscal framework heavily reliant on borrowing and disconnected from economic realities, said Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar while presenting the party’s official reaction to the proposed budget at a press conference held at its central office in Dhaka's Mogbazar today.

“The biggest weakness of this budget is that it is the largest deficit budget in the country’s history. It is also heavily dependent on borrowing, particularly bank loans and foreign loans. This will crowd out private investment, hamper employment generation and negatively affect the overall economy,” he said.

Questioning the revenue targets, Porwar said the budget envisages collecting Tk 629,000 crore without presenting a realistic roadmap for achieving it.

“It is impossible to realise such a large amount of revenue merely by widening the tax net without addressing corruption and inefficiency in the tax administration,” he said.

He added that rising electricity, gas and fuel prices had already pushed up production costs, while persistently high inflation and global economic uncertainty would make both implementation of the budget and revenue collection more difficult.

Describing the projected economic growth target as unrealistic, he said international institutions, including the IMF, had forecast Bangladesh’s GDP growth at below 5 percent for the next fiscal year, while the government had set a target of 6.5 percent.

“It is an inflated and overly ambitious target with little basis in reality,” he said, adding, “The aspirations of the people and measures to improve their living standards are not reflected in this budget. Nor does it outline any vision for establishing a self-reliant and corruption-free state.”

The Jamaat leader also said, “The ADP has once again been turned into a vehicle for corruption and looting. As in previous years, there is every possibility that public money will be wasted in the name of implementing development projects.”

He added that the proposed tax measures would increase pressure on lower-middle and middle-income groups, noting that the minimum personal income tax rate has been raised from five to 10 percent.

Golam Porwar also said higher VAT on LPG and increased duties on industrial raw materials would further raise production costs and fuel inflation.

“We strongly condemn this anti-people budget. The people will not accept such an arbitrary budget. We demand that this unrealistic, overly ambitious and looting-friendly budget be revised immediately and replaced with an investment-friendly and welfare-oriented one,” he said.

Comparing the government’s proposal with Jamaat’s shadow budget, he said the party had proposed a budget of Tk 839,505 crore, which, he claimed, involved a smaller deficit and lower dependence on borrowing.

“Our shadow budget is people-oriented and reform-driven. Compared with the government’s proposal, it is more realistic and poses fewer risks to the country’s economy,” he added.

FP/MI