The National Board of Revenue may consider the Tk 115.06 crore as tax-free allowable expense for merchant banks and brokerage houses that they
would waive to the small investors from interest on loans, officials concerned said.
They said that in a letter in last week the finance ministry had asked the NBR to take necessary step to consider the exempted interest as allowable
expense so that merchant banks and stock brokers can get tax waiver on the money.
According to the finance ministry, 28 merchant banks would have to waive Tk 65.10 crore in interest while 280 brokerage
houses of the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges would have to
waive Tk 49.96 crore
to implement the stock market compensation package for small investors declared by the government.
A senior NBR official told New Age on Monday that apparently the existing law allowed such facility. However, the NBR will further examine the legal provision for providing the facility and will make the decision just after finalising the budget documentation, he added.
According to the article 29 of the Income Tax Ordinance-1984, the NBR will consider the amount of
any debt which has been written off as tax-free allowable expense in computing the income for banks or money-lending businesses.
On the other hand, the NBR is considering the matter in positively as the scheme has been declared to make the ailing share market stable and to protect the interest of the small investors, he said adding that finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith had also agreed on the proposal.
-With New Age input
