Bangladesh stock exchanges want full tax exemption to continue in 2016-17

Bangladesh’s two stock exchange have demanded the government give them full tax exemption and lower taxes at source on trading of securities in the budget for 2016-17.

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) Chairman Siddiqur Rahman Miah made the demands at a media conference on Sunday. 

Earlier, he expressed his frustration at Finance Minister AMA Muhith failure to make any recommendations for the capital market in the proposed budget.
 
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), at a separate media call, demanded similar help from the government to restore investors’ confidence in the market.
 
The DSE chief said the bourse had submitted six proposals to the government but none of them found space in the budget.
 
“We demand that the government fulfil at least two of our proposals,” he said.
 
The two proposals are giving the stock exchange five years of tax exemption after de-mutualisation and lowering taxes at source on trading from 0.05 percent to 0.015 percent.
 
The government announced a gradual drop in tax exemption for the stock market for five years after de-mutualisation in 2014-15.
 
The capital market will enjoy full tax exemption in the first fiscal year after the de-mutualisation, 80 percent exemption in the second year, 60 percent in third, 40 percent fourth and 20 percent tax exemption in the final year.
 
The government, however, extended the full exemption to the second fiscal year, 2015-16. Now the stock exchanges want it for three more years.
 
CSE Managing Director M Saifur Rahman Mazumdar said, “The capital market is an inseparable part of the government’s development programme. But there was nothing specific in this regard in the budget.”