'Disappointing budget for capital market'

Stock market intermediaries expressed their disappointment today as the finance minister did not recommend any measure for the capital market in the proposed national budget for 2023-24 fiscal year.

AHM Mustafa Kamal did not even utter the word 'the capital market' once in his budget speech in the parliament on June 1.

Today in a discussion on the proposed budget, stock market brokers and merchant bankers reiterate their urge for widening the corporate tax gap between listed and non-listed companies, and cancel the double taxation on dividend income of investors.

At present, the corporate tax gap is 7.5 percentage points, which was 10 percentage points in the previous year.

They urged for reducing the tax for stock brokers considering the bearish trend of the share market.

They made the call from the discussion on "Budget 2023-24: Capital market perspectives" jointly organised by the Capital Market Journalists' Forum (CMJF) and Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA) at CMJF's office in the capital.

Planning Minister MA Mannan attended the event as the chief guest where Dhaka Stock Exchange Chairman Prof Hafiz Md Hasan Babu, Chittagong Stock Exchange Chariman Asif Ibrahim, BMBA President Md Sayadur Rahman, President of DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh Richard D' Rozario and CMJF President Ziaur Rahman were also present.