STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Bangladesh must broaden its tax base, improve public spending, and reduce dependence on borrowing to avoid rising fiscal risks, speakers said at a discussion yesterday.

The discussion, titled “National Budget 2026-27: Priorities and Perspectives”, was held at East West University.

Speakers said the proposed budget for FY2026-27 prioritised education, health and social safety nets, but weak revenue assumptions, poor implementation capacity, and banking sector vulnerabilities could undermine its goals without effective reforms and stronger institutional discipline.

Presenting the keynote paper, Prof Mustafizur Rahman, fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said the budget included several positive measures, including duty cuts, to facilitate exports and business activities.

He said the expansion of bonded warehouse facilities beyond the RMG sector could help diversify exports.

However, Prof Mustafizur said the budget’s main weakness lay in its underlying assumptions, with the revenue target based on an unrealistic revised estimate for the outgoing fiscal year.

The government has projected total expenditure at Tk 9.38 lakh crore and revenue at Tk 6.95 lakh crore, leaving a deficit of Tk 2.43 lakh crore.

While the budget assumes revenue collection of Tk

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