DHAKA, June 17, 2020 (BSS) – Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) has hailed the proposed budget for fiscal 2020-21 describing it as time-befitting and capital market friendly.
In a reaction on the budget, the stock exchange thanked Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal for presenting the budget with utmost wisdom and courage during the coronavirus pandemic.
CSE hoped that the budget will be safeguard of public life, increase employment opportunities, and turn the wheel of industry, trade and economy. Many issues have been seriously considered in the budget for the development of the overall capital market.
The stock exchange hoped that under the leadership and efficient management of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the development of capital market will be accelerated more in coming days by overcoming the Covid-19.
It said a massive influx of private capital will be required for achieving the vision of the government to transform Bangladesh into a middle-income country.
CSE firmly believed that the capital market can play an important role in achieving this goal.
CSE underscored the need for formulating a comprehensive strategy for sustainable development and quality expansion of the capital market.
In order to strengthen the country’s bond market, the Finance Minister has proposed a source adjustment on the interest and discount on bonds and a source value on the transaction price in the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2020-21.
CSE hoped that the development of a strong bond market in the long run will create new fields and opportunities for financing large projects in the public and private sectors.
In the budget for the next financial year, the Finance Minister has proposed a concession for individual taxpayers. He has also taken some additional initiatives in tax collection. In the budget, the tax-free income limit of individual taxpayers has been increased to Taka 3 lakh.
Again, there have been proposals to reduce the tax rate. Earlier, the lowest tax rate was 10 percent. This time the tax rate has been proposed to be 5 percent.
CSE thought that this would encourage more individual taxpayers to invest in the capital market.