Special tax rate proposed in budget to attract quality firms to stock market
Staff Correspondent
The government has proposed a special tax rate in the national budget for FY2025-26 to encourage listing of profitable and reputed companies -- both local and foreign -- in the country’s stock market.
In his budget speech on Monday, Financial Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said the gap between the corporate tax rates of listed and non-listed companies will be widened to attract well-performing firms to the capital market.
While the difference in tax rates currently stands at 5 percent, the new budget proposes to increase it to 7.5 percent.
To further boost investment and trading in the capital market, the government has also proposed reducing the tax collected at source from brokerage houses on the total value of securities transactions-- from 0.05 percent to 0.03 percent.
The budget also proposes an increase in the tax deducted at source on interest income from securities. This rate, which is currently 5 percent, will be raised to 10 percent in the next fiscal year.
The government hopes these measures will encourage quality listings and increased participation in the stock market while also ensuring fair revenue collection.
