DSE urges govt to exempt tax on earned interest in bond market

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Tuesday urged the government to consider its 6-point proposal on the budget for the fiscal year 2023-24, to encourage investment.

DSE Board of Directors Chairman, Professor Hafiz Hasan Babu made the call from a 'post-budget press conference' at a hotel in the capital on Tuesday.

The proposals are tax-exemption for earned interest on bonds, to reduce the tax gap between listed and non-listed companies to 10 percent, reduce VAT from 15 percent to 10 percent for companies in the capital market, reduce the tax gap to 10 percent for stock exchange SME companies, and reduce tax at source on broker houses’ transactions.

In a written speech at the press conference, DSE Chairman said that currently, the size of the corporate bond market is very small which creates limitations in the capital market as well as in the financial market.

“A well-functioning bond market can help the economy in several ways. Exemption of tax on interest in all types of bonds would encourage creating a strong bond market," he said.