The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has set a target of raising Bangladesh’s revenue-to-GDP ratio to 10.7 per cent by the 2028-29 fiscal year as part of a broader strategy to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation and support long-term economic growth.
The target is outlined in the government’s Medium-Term Macroeconomic Policy Statement 2026-27 to 2028-29, which identifies stronger revenue collection as essential for sustaining development and addressing structural weaknesses in the economy. The document notes that Bangladesh’s revenue-to-GDP ratio remains among the lowest compared with similar economies.
According to the policy statement, the overall revenue-to-GDP ratio stood at 8.3 per cent in the 2023-24 fiscal year before falling to 8.0 per cent in 2024-25. The decline was attributed to structural weaknesses in tax administration, tax exemptions on essential commodities introduced to contain inflation, and lower import-related revenue amid global economic uncertainty.
The government projects the ratio will rise to 10.2 per cent in the 2026-27 fiscal year, increase to 10.5 per cent in 2027-28 and reach 10.7 per cent in 2028-29.
NBR tax revenue, which accounted for 6.7 per cent of GDP in 2024-25, is expected to increase to 8.8 per cent in 2026-27, 9.1 per cent in 2027-28 and 9.3 per cent in 2028-29.
The policy statement says total revenue figures include foreign grants, while non-NBR tax revenue is projected to remain between 0.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent of GDP throughout the period.
In his budget speech for the 2026-27 fiscal year, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the government’s medium-term goal is to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio to 10 per cent, with a long-term target of 15 per cent by 2035.
He said the government aims to build a fair, technology-based, universal and predictable tax system while creating a stronger economic cycle driven by investment, production, employment, consumption and improved revenue collection.
To achieve these targets, the NBR plans to introduce a series of reforms, including the full digitisation of tax administration, greater transparency and accountability to encourage voluntary compliance, a broader tax base through increased economic activity and a more predictable revenue framework.
The policy statement says stronger domestic revenue mobilisation would reduce reliance on deficit financing and bank borrowing, support the government’s contractionary monetary policy to curb inflation and improve the economy’s resilience to domestic and external shocks.
