Bangladesh Plans Higher Taxes in Budget in IMF Reforms Test (1)

Bangladesh proposed raising taxes and boosting spending in its annual budget Thursday in a test of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s prudent policymaking over populism ahead of elections due next year.

Trying to balance the budget is not a choice for Hasina, but a requirement from the International Monetary Fund, which in January approved $4.7 billion to the South Asian nation.

The funds tied to conditions such as widening tax revenue, reforming the financial sector and removing subsidies couldn’t have come at a more delicate time for the 75-year-old leader who faces elections, that analysts and critics say she’s likely ...