Markets are sceptical and nervous of Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax being reintroduced in this year’s budget and this has sounded like a debate of nervousness. Not sure why investors should not be paying taxes when they make money out of stocks when others like the salaried class and others have no escape route. Lakhs of crores of rupees are made in long term holdings and it sans logic that taxes are exempt on them. Similarly, agricultural income should be taxed as most politicians today disclose agricultural income to evade taxes while the poor farmers are dying of debts.
Taxes build nations and we should be a tax compliant nation if we are to develop and progress to a superpower. Markets are at an all time high and time ripe to introduce LTCG as the shock or surprise can easily be absorbed at this time. Not sure if the Finance Minister would bite the bullet as elections are due next year but policies should be for the nations benefit and not winning elections!
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
