Merchant bankers seek reduction of corporate tax

Mohammad Mufazzal | Published: June 17, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The merchant bankers have proposed to incorporate three proposals, including reduction of corporate tax in the national budget of the fiscal year (FY) 2014-15, BSEC officials said.
The Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA) has placed their proposals to the ministry of finance, the securities regulator and the revenue board.
The BMBA will also hold a press briefing to press their demands in the city today (Tuesday).
The BMBA letter sent to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Monday said since the government has proposed the reduction of corporate tax to 35 per cent from the existing 37.5 per cent for the non-listed companies, the merchant banks should also be entitled to get the benefit.
The BMBA said the merchant banks waived 50 per cent interest of margin loans disbursed against their clients' portfolios in 2011 as per government's instruction for the sake of implementing the capital market refinancing scheme.
The revenue board was supposed to treat the 50 per cent interest as allowable expenses in accordance with the government's assurance.
"But the interest is yet to be treated as allowable expenses. That's why we have urged the government to incorporate this facility in the budget of the FY 2014-15," the BMBA proposal said.
In this connection, the bank and financial institutions division of the ministry of finance sent a letter to the chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on May 5, 2013.
"Our problem is yet to be solved although the ministry of finance requested the NBR to treat 50 per cent interest of margin loans as allowable expenses," said a chief executive officer of a leading merchant bank.
The BMBA has also urged the government to consider the written-off amount of loan and interest as allowable expenses under income tax ordinance.
"Otherwise, the merchant banks will have to sustain a colossalÂ loss due to huge amount of unrealised margin loans worth around Tk 100 billion," the BMBA proposal added.