DSE chairman not disappointed with budget
DSE seeks
- Tax waiver in income from bond interests
- Removal of double taxation
- Tax reduction for listed SME companies
- At least 10% tax gap between listed and non-listed firms
- Widened VAT gap between listed and non-listed firms
The chairman of the Dhaka bourse has said that he was not disappointed with the proposed budget despite most of their pre-budget recommendations were not paid heed to.
The proposed budget is not against the capital market, however, it would have been better if their demands were addressed, Hafiz Md Hasan Babu, chairman of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) said at a post-budget press conference on Tuesday.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The DSE chairman wanted the seven demands they had raised in a pre-budget discussion to be reconsidered before the finalisation of the budget.
A letter was sent to the finance ministry, central bank, revenue board, and securities regulator informing them that the tax rebate facility on capital market investments would be withdrawn, he mentioned.
"However, the facility has been maintained as before," he said as a positive move in the budget.
Although the budget did not directly say anything about the capital market, the government will lend a helping hand for its development, the chairman believes.
He believes the market will turn around from the setbacks it faced from the Ukraine war and the pandemic.
The DSE demanded tax exemption on interest earned from bonds, elimination of double taxation, reduction of tax at source, widening of tax gap between listed and non-listed companies, reduction of tax on SME companies, widening of VAT gap between listed and non-listed companies, and increase in the supply of shares in multinational companies.
However, in the proposed budget for FY24, no special instructions were given regarding the capital market.
DSE's IT system
When asked about the technical glitches of the DSE, the chairman said, "The IT sector of DSE should be much improved. The IT sector is one of the few obstacles in the development of the DSE."
To improve DSE's IT system, a committee would be formed with all parties of the capital market, he mentioned.
He also highlighted a plan to prepare a master plan for the system in coordination with this committee.
Listing of DSE in the capital market
The DSE chairman said, "There is a provision for self-listing of DSE. However, it has not been done yet. It will be done as soon as possible."
Blaming taxes for the bond market not being vibrant, he said, "I have demanded tax exemption on interest income from bonds but it has not been given. The bond market is not vibrant because of this tax."
