INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal (Photo: PTI)2 min read Last Updated : Jul 27 2024 | 9:23 PM IST
Piyush Goyal, the
union minister for commerce and industry, said on Saturday that the hike in capital gains taxes is unlikely to slow down capital market
activity.
Goyal addressed a post-budget discussion organised by the National Stock Exchange at Sydenham College in Mumbai.
"There will
For people who are gaining from the stock market, it is a small increase in the tax
I am yet to meet one person who has stopped investing because of the increase in the tax rate," said Goyal.
The commerce minister termed
the criticisms against the hike in capital gains tax and securities transaction tax (STT) in derivatives trading as fear-mongering.
Goyal
said the US and some European nations have higher taxation on short-term capital gains through equities.
"India cannot be compared to
city-states like Singapore or Hong Kong
We are a country of 1.4 billion people
We cannot ignore taking care of the poor or the common man
When you are looking for wider disbursal of benefits, obviously a few steps are taken to capture increased incomes, and the revenue so
earned is well spent," said Goyal.
Goyal said direct benefit transfer and increasing digitisation have reduced corruption and greatly
reduced the pilferage in social benefit schemes.
"In the last 10 years, Rs 34 trillion has been sent to the poor and the lower middle
class through bank accounts for different schemes," Goyal said.
Earlier, addressing an event organised by PL Capital, Goyal said
middle-class welfare is not tied to direct taxation.
"Middle-class lives have improved because of the investments in infrastructure,
employment-linked incentives, and free housing schemes rolled out by the government
We have many tweaks to simplify the income tax filing," said Goyal.
The Union Budget has hiked taxes on equities trading in a bid to raise
revenue, clamp down on speculative trading, and encourage sticky investments
Effective July 23, the long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on all asset classes will be 12.5 per cent from the current 10 per cent
Short-term capital gains (STCG) tax has been raised from 20 per cent to 15 per cent
In addition, the government has also raised the securities transaction tax, or STT, on derivatives trading.First Published: Jul 27 2024 |
