The stock market has opened the week’s trading on an upbeat mood, sucking in the impact of several incentives proposed in the 2015-16 budget.Of the traded issues, 146 moved up, 117 dropped and 49 remained unchanged.In Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), the CSCX gained 26 points to 8633. Shares and mutual funds worth Tk 761 million changed hands.While presenting the budget proposals in Parliament on Thursday, Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposed a cut in corporate tax for companies listed on the stock market and a rise in the ceiling of tax-free dividend income.The DSEX advanced four points that day. The turnover was Tk 4.99 billion.In the budget speech, Muhith said, “Capital market now stands on strong grounds after continuous efforts in last 4 years. We would like to attract more companies to further expand the capital market.”He proposed to cut the tax rate from 42.5 percent to 40 percent for publicly traded banks, and insurance and other financial institutions.Muhith also proposed a tax reduction from 27.5 percent to 25 percent for other companies listed on the share market.The tax rate for tobacco companies, however, would increase by five percentage points to 45 percent.The threshold of tax exemption on dividend income has been raised from Tk 20,000 to 25,000.The 10 percent deduction at source on income from share market by any company or joint venture would also be withdrawn, Muhith said.Former DSE president Shakil Rizvi said, “The government is paying sufficient heed to the stock market as they want its expansion.”“The government gets more tax if fewer companies are listed on the stock market. Its eagerness to help the market is clear in its steps to expand the market,” he added.
