The proposed budget for FY2018-19 does not reflect any single demand placed by the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) authorities, said CSE Managing Director M Shaifur Rahman Mazumdar.
The reaction came three days after Finance Minister AMA Muhith placed the Tk4.65 trillion budget for FY19 at the House on Thursday. The amount is over 16% higher than the original budget of the outgoing fiscal year.
Speaking at a post-budget briefing at the Dhaka office of CSE on Sunday, Shaifur said the government should concentrate on revitalizing the stock market alongside its focus on development projects.
The prevalent unrest in the country’s financial sector has severely affected the capital market as its market capitalization accounts for over 50%. Therefore, the government should find out weaknesses in this sector and take necessary strategic measures to address the current instability, he added.
“The capital market has gone through notable reforms in recent years, and we need to take advantage of those reforms. The market badly needs to diversify its products, which could be possible only if the government provide necessary policy support,” he said, urging the government to formulate necessary policies to list both state-owned and multinational companies in the stock market.
Mazumdar also called on the government to cut the corporate tax rates by 2.5% for all listed companies, reduce tax at source on transaction of shares, and provide incentives to list new companies in the stock market.
Reiterating his call to reduce the corporate tax rates for listed and non-listed companies by 2.5%, as has been proposed for banks and financial institutions, he said: “A reduction in the corporate tax rate will help bring the country more revenue.”
The CSE also urged the government to reduce corporate tax rates for publicly listed companies to 15% from the existing 25% for FY2018-19.
Currently, the publicly listed companies have to pay a minimum of 25% tax and maximum 40% based on their business types.
CSE Director Sayadur Rahman and Dhaka Office In-Charge Md Ghulam Faruque were present at the briefing.
