Making digital banking accessible, affordable should be a priority
To increase tax revenue, it is essential first to cultivate a strong tax culture
In the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year budget, the government must prioritise overall economic growth and the improvement of work culture above all else.
To increase tax revenue, it is essential first to cultivate a strong tax culture.
The government should also focus the budget on industrial and entrepreneurial development, especially expanding financial inclusion opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
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Allocating adequate funds in the budget for technology-driven employment is crucial. Equally important is ensuring incentives and support for startups and innovation-led sectors to create new job opportunities.
Policymakers must carefully balance GDP growth with inflation control. Emphasis should be placed on increasing investment in productive sectors. Effective measures are urgently needed to control inflation in agriculture, industry, food, and energy sectors.
Tax structures must be simplified to ease the burden on the middle class and stabilise the market. Achieving this goal requires urgent reforms in the banking sector.
The budget must give special attention to making digital banking easier, more affordable, and widely accessible. This will facilitate easier loan access and enable small entrepreneurs to avail financial services with ease.
Non-performing loans need to be reduced, while transparency and accountability in the banking sector must be ensured. Introducing technology-driven modern management will further energise banking operations.
Most importantly, the reforms already initiated must be implemented swiftly. We need to assess how many measures remain at the policy level and how many have been effectively realised. These plans must be executed with practical strategies that reflect the country's realities and needs.
Particularly, government subsidies and social protection funds should be disbursed digitally through bank accounts. This will increase transparency, reduce corruption, and expand the customer base for banks and especially enable those with capital shortages to become more active in the rural economy.
Syed Mahbubur Rahman is the managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank
