IMF cuts extra tax revenue target to Tk 510 billion

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slightly reduced Bangladesh's requirement of additional tax revenue collection, which was brought down to Tk 510 billion for the next fiscal year.

The amount was reduced from the earlier-set amount of Tk 570 billion after the National Board of Revenue (NBR) high-ups declined to accept the ambitious target.

The NBR would have to frame policy measures in the budget, to be placed on June 2, 2025, for the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26, showing that the additional taxes would be collected that year, said a senior NBR official.

In a meeting held between the NBR and IMF on Wednesday at NBR premises, the IMF visiting missions tagged the condition to the release of its fourth and fifth tranches as its budget support on June 24, 2025, he said.

However, the NBR officials have reiterated their inability to frame a policy to collect such a high amount of taxes at this stage of the country's economy.

"We have given an estimate to the IMF that NBR can collect an additional amount of Tk 85 billion in taxes next year," he added.

The IMF has set a condition to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio of Bangladesh by 0.9 percent in next fiscal year.