The government has widened the corporate tax gap between listed and non-listed companies from the existing 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent in the proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2025–26.
The measure was unveiled by finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed in a pre-recorded budget speech broadcast on Monday.
He presented the proposed national budget amounting to Tk 7,89,999 crore.
Under the previous tax structure, listed companies were subject to a corporate tax rate of 20 per cent. However, due to stringent compliance requirements — such as the obligation to conduct all income, expenditure, and investment transactions through bank transfers — many listed companies failed to meet the criteria and were instead taxed at a higher rate of 22.5 per cent.
Similarly, non-listed companies, while officially taxed at 25 per cent, frequently faced a higher effective tax rate of 27.5 per cent for failing to adhere to specified conditions.
In the proposed budget, the corporate tax rate for non-listed companies has been formally set at 27.5 per cent, removing the conditionality and effectively reflecting the rate that many were already paying.
At the same time, the compliance criteria for listed companies to qualify for the preferential 20 per cent tax rate have been eased.
Under the revised conditions, listed firms now only need to ensure that their income is received via bank transfer, not all types of transactions — including expenses and investments — to be made through banking channels.
In a separate move, the government has also reduced the corporate tax rate for merchant banks. Previously taxed at 37.5 per cent, these institutions will now be subject to a 27.5 per cent rate.
Additionally, to encourage investment and transactions in the capital market, the source tax collection rate from brokerage houses on total transaction value has been reduced from 0.05 per cent to 0.03 per cent.
