The National Revenue Council on Monday halved the tax rate to 15% for capital gains of over 50 lei from the sale of shares of companies listed on the capital market, regardless of the time of the transaction.

The Revenue Commission has issued a circular in this regard with retroactive effect from July 1.

The earlier tax rate on capital gains above Tk 50 lakh was up to 30% if investors sold their shares within five years, according to the circular.

The 15% tax rate was imposed on capital gains from share sales in all cases, regardless of the timing of the transaction, the statement said.

As a result, from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, capital gains above Rs 50 lakh from dealing in shares of listed companies will have to pay a tax of 15%.

If the net asset value of the taxpayer is more than Tk 4, Tk 10, Tk 20 and Tk 50, the investors will have to pay a surcharge of 10%, 20%, 30% and 35% cent of the tax payable respectively.

The circular said that if the taxpayer’s net assets are less than 50 million lei, the surcharge can be less than 35 percent.

The now deposed Awami League government has imposed capital gains tax for the financial year 2024-25.

After the tax was imposed, capital market organizations continued to call for the withdrawal of the capital gains tax, saying it would have a negative impact on the market.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange, in a meeting with NBR chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, recently asked the caretaker government to withdraw capital gains tax. DSEX, the DSE’s key index, gained 61.63 points to 5,252.49 points on Monday.