Bangladesh spends over 43 percent of its tax revenue for salaries and allowances of public employees, said the Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Bangladesh today.

In the last 12 years, the tax revenue has remained largely stable at 34.5 percent, but government pay and allowances have increased by a massive 406 percent, the PRI said in a study.

At the same time, pension and gratuities increased 519 percent to Tk 29,100 crore, which is equivalent to 9 percent of the total tax revenue, it added.

"We have to think about this vast spending on pay and allowances," said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the PRI.

The findings of the study were shared at an event titled "Bangladesh's domestic resource mobilisation – imperatives and a roadmap" at Amari Dhaka in the capital today.