The National Citizen Party thinks that the interim government has managed to address some of the immediate economic problems facing the country through its proposed FY26 budget, but the proper solutions, strategies, and vision the NCP has spoken of for building an equitable society have not been materialized through it."While this is a one-year budget that may be realistic, it has not fully captured the aspirations for a new arrangement and economic transformation that we hoped for," NCP Convener Nahid Islam said during a press conference at the party’s temporary office at Banglamotor in Dhaka on Tuesday.The NCP said that since the interim government has had to operate within the constraints of the previous economic structure, one characterized by looting and debt, and formulate the budget accordingly, this budget has been prepared within that same framework, bearing many imprints of the old economic structure.

The party further stated that through the July uprising, they envisioned a new Bangladesh where income inequality would be reduced.However, they have not seen effective initiatives in this budget to address income disparity, it said.

"The number of taxpayers remains the same as before, and we have not observed any effective measures to bring tax evaders—individuals and institutions—into the tax net. As a result, the tax burden on lower and middle-income groups will continue unchanged," said Nahid.

Although taxes on some essential commodities have been reduced, the pressure on these groups will not qualitatively decrease, according to the NCP.

The NCP said it does not believe that this budget or these economic policies will effectively increase employment or solve the unemployment problem.

The party noted that the July uprising began with the unemployment problem—it originated from the movement for employment opportunities.

Therefore, young people had high expectations that there would be initiatives to solve unemployment and increase job creation, it said.

However, the party said it has not yet seen this idea materialized. "Over the past year, unemployment has increased by 2.6 million. But the policies needed to increase investment for job creation have not been adopted. Instead, the dependence on banks continues as before—a continuation from the previous era," Nahid said.

According to the NCP, there is also little innovation in education, health, and science and technology sectors.

The NCP believes that education should receive at least a 2% allocation, but it has been set at 1.7%.They also condemned the budget for the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment being halved.

The party thinks that when even the limited facilities provided by the ministry are reduced, it becomes unclear what this government's actual commitment is toward expatriates.

"We had suggested taking institutional initiatives to upskill our brothers and sisters who go abroad, but instead, we see the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment budget has been cut," said Nahid.

Additionally, the NCP said it expected incentives for small and medium businesses, but they have not seen initiatives in this budget that would benefit small and medium entrepreneurs.

Another issue they pointed out is the increase in tax on e-commerce or digital transactions from 5% to 15%, which we believe will impact the digital economy.One more matter that the party discussed is the opportunity provided in this budget to “whiten” or legalize black money.

The NCP believes that this opportunity to legalize black money should not have been included.
The NCP appreciated over Tk405 crore being allocated for families of the July martyrs and the injured.

However, the party emphasized that this money should be spent appropriately and according to the rehabilitation plans they have discussed, ensuring that the promises made to them are fulfilled promptly.