Nirmala Sitharaman defends capital gains tax changes

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the government wanted to simplify the approach to taxation with regards to capital gains and widen the tax net. Addressing a press conference after presenting the Union Budget 2024 in New Delhi, she said, “We wanted to simplify the approach to taxation, also for the capital gains. Second, if anything, the average taxation actual has come down."The finance minister said that the government has been making repeated attempts to widen the tax net.

Delhi: "Right now I can say that our intention is definitely that there should be a simpler taxation regime and if we are moving towards a simpler tax regime through this review, then our aim will be to simplify it. This new tax regime has come on the path of simplifying the old… pic.twitter.com/6NuGfWpDJs

— IANS (@ians_india) July 23, 2024

Sitharaman also announced removal of angel tax for all classes of investors to further promote the growth of budding entrepreneurs of the country.Angel tax refers to the income tax that the government imposes on funding raised by unlisted companies, or startups, if their valuation exceeds the company's fair market. "The railway's expenditure budget for next year is Rs 2,55,393 crores, which is the highest ever. It represents a very substantial increase in recent years. This is a significant amount of investment in the railway, with adequate provision..." says Finance Secretary