Cabinet okays national budget for FY 2017-18

The cabinet approved the national budget for fiscal 2017-18 this afternoon.

It was approved around 12:15pm with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chairing the special meeting held at the parliament complex, Parliament Secretariat sources said.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith will place his ninth consecutive budget of Tk 4,00, 266 crore at the Jatiya Sangsad shortly, which is believed to be around 26 percent bigger from the current fiscal year.

The size of the budget is nearly four times the size of the budget of fiscal 2008-09, the last before the current Awami League government assumed power.

The total revenue target is likely to be 29 percent higher at Tk 288,000 crore.

A big chunk -- Tk 248,000 crore -- will come from the NBR, 34 percent higher than the current year's target, according to the National Board of Revenue.

Traders, businesspeople and the public are worried about the fallout of imposing a 15 percent flat value added tax (VAT) for all.

Of the total budgetary outlay, Tk 153,331 crore would be set aside for development expenditure and the rest for non-development expenditure.

Salaries and allowances of government staff, interest payment and subsidies would account for more than half of the non-development expenditure.