Staff Reporter :
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has demanded no imposition of tax on the capital gains in the upcoming budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
DSE has announced 5 proposals including not imposing tax on capital gains in the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year budget.
DSE president Hafiz Muhammad Hasan Babu made this demand at a pre-budget press conference at Dhaka Club Limited in Shahbagh of the capital on Tuesday.
He said, ‘The stock market is still under pressure due to the post-pandemic period and the Russia-Ukraine war. Therefore, the imposition of new taxes at this time will create more pressure on investors.
He also talked about reducing source tax in the upcoming budget.
Besides, he proposed to reduce the corporate tax of listed companies from 20 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
Hafiz Muhammad said corporate tax gap between listed and non-listed companies should be 10 per cent or 12.5 per cent to encourage good companies in the capital market.
Currently the gap between listed and non-listed companies is 7.5 per cent.
After all the preparations for the upcoming budget have already been completed by the government, why is there a pre-budget press conference? Hafiz Muhammad Hasan Babu, in response to the journalist’s question, has already submitted a budget proposal to the NBR on behalf of the DSE.
The proposed budget will be presented to the National Assembly next month.
Budget presentation does not mean the budget is passed.
Therefore, this press conference is being held based on the information we have about the proposed budget.
We hope that our proposals will be reflected in the final budget as well as the proposed budget for the sake of the capital market, he added.
DSE Board of Directors members along with DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA), Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA) and other stakeholders were presents the Press conference.
Five recommendations from DSE in the proposed budget
Taking into account the overall economic development of the capital market and the country, not to impose new taxes on the capital gains earned from the securities transactions of companies listed on the stock exchange and to reduce the tax rate stated in SRO No. 196 from the securities transactions listed on the stock exchange.
At present, about 1 crore people of the country are directly and indirectly dependent on the capital market for their livelihood.
Even in the era of globalization, the government’s finances are of considerable importance to ensure the long-term stability of capital markets.
In such a situation, it will play a helpful role in forming a transparent and stable capital market in the country.
The rate of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on transaction value may be reduced from 0.05 per cent to 0.020 per cent, from 0.015 per cent earlier.
The main revenue (turnover) of the track holder companies is taxed at a higher rate than the commission income, making it impossible for the track holder companies to survive and contribute to the capital markets.
