Bourses brought onto tax net

FE Report | Published: July 01, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Country's stock exchanges are getting hooked onto a wide-cast tax net as the bourse would have pay taxes on their annual incomes from next fiscal year, after enjoying waiver facility thus far.
According to an order of the revenue board the demutualised bourses would enjoy full tax holiday in the current FY while count tax at a cut-down rate of 20 per cent on their incomes from the fiscal 2015-16.
The two stock exchanges in Dhaka and Chittagong have enjoyed full exemption from payment of income tax. In the new budget for FY 2014-15, the government brought them under tax by offering tax holiday facility for the year.
A senior National Board of Revenue (NBR) official said after demutualization the stock exchanges came under tax net like other private bodies.
"The bourses would enjoy the reduced rates of taxes instead of payment of taxes at higher rate by private companies," he added.
As per a statutory regulatory order (SRO) of the NBR, effective from today (July 1, 2014) stock exchanges will have to pay tax on their total annual incomes from FY 2019-20.
The revenue board will fully tax the bourse operators in phases. They would pay tax on 40 per cent of their annual income in FY 2016-17 while 60 per cent in 2017-18 and 80 per cent in 2018-19.
In another SRO, the revenue board brought 29 local authorities under tax by offering a cut rate at 25 per cent.
The local authorities are: WASA located in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi divisions, Civil Aviation Authority, RAJUK and other local development authorities in Rajshahi, Khulna and Chittagong, National Housing Authority, Port Authorities in Chittagiong, Mongla and Paira, Bangladesh Land Port Authority, Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar (Radio), Bangladesh In-land Water Transport Authority, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, Power Development Board, Rural Electrification Board, Water Development Board, Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority, Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge Authority, Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (Rajshahi), Bangladesh Hi-tech Park Authority, Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority, and Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority. The revenue board official said although the local authorities are supposed to pay income tax, but many of them had obtained exemption under their respective laws.
He said field offices often face problem collecting tax from the local authorities due to contradictory rules between NBR and the entities.
The income-tax wing made it clear this year to resolve the confusions by offering a reduced rate of tax at 25 per cent instead of 35 per cent.
The NBR also offered cut-down tax at 15 per cent for national research-oriented organizations registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860. Earlier, the facility was valid only for research organizations listed under the Trust Act 1882.