The Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) has expressed its inability to welcome the proposed national budget, labeling it a 'big hollow budget.' In a statement on Thursday, the party said the budget lacks optimism in reducing the cost of living and creating new employment opportunities, and will instead increase inequality.
CPB President Kazi Sajjad Zahir Chandan and General Secretary Abdullah Kafi Ratan stated in the statement that although the proposed budget is large in amount, it is hollow in terms of implementation. The budget, amounting to Tk 9.38 lakh crore, allocates Tk 1.27 lakh crore for debt interest payments and plans to borrow nearly Tk 2.5 lakh crore to cover the deficit. The party believes this reliance on new debt and high debt interest payments highlights the budget's lack of substance.
The CPB also noted that the budget lacks clear direction in controlling high inflation and expressed skepticism about the government's ability to achieve the set growth and inflation reduction targets. The party compared the current budget-to-GDP ratio of 13.6% to the 16.9% ratio in 2010-11, despite an eightfold increase in budget size.
Regarding tax policy, the CPB criticized the expansion of the tax net under IMF conditions, arguing that it will harm workers, farmers, lower and middle-income groups, and small businesses, while benefiting only a small group of large businessmen, bankers, and importers. The party also questioned how much of the Tk 3.16 lakh crore development expenditure would go to productive sectors and expressed doubts about the government's capacity to implement increased allocations for health, education, agriculture, and social security.
