Finance Minister Press Conference Live: Middle Class Shareholders Will Pay Tax On Dividends At Lower Rate, Says Sitharaman

A large section of the middle class will pay tax on dividends at a lower rate, Sitharaman said, adding that the middle class will have more money in their hand to spend post the new proposed rules in The Finance Bill.

The proposed initial public offering of Life Insurance Corporation Of India will bring retail investors into the picture and make issues more transparent, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The intent of the current government is to move towards simplification of tax regime, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. We are trying to implement many of the recommendations of the Direct Tax Code committee, Sitharaman added.

We wish to decriminalise laws. We started with Companies Act and now are looking at the Income Tax Act, Sitharaman says, adding that we want to ensure that civil offences are not treated as criminal offences.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address a press conference in Mumbai after an interactive session to discuss the budget proposals presented last week.

The session is being attended by academicians, professionals, economists and journalists. In her over two-and-a-half-hour budget speech, Sitharaman had made a host of announcements including an optional alternate income tax regime, abolishing the dividend distribution tax, invoking the escape clause for fiscal deficit, hiking deposit insurance cover and proposed the listing of Life Insurance Corporation of India.

Following the budget, Sitharaman then attended a Confederation of Indian Industry event where she exhorted India Inc. to shun hesitation and push growth through investments.

The approach has been “we shall spend on asset creation and it is the cascading effect of this spend which is going to help the industry. So we expect you to be... the engine to pull the economy forward”, the finance minister said.

Sitharaman has also signalled that the government is willing to do more in terms of necessary measures to prop up the economy.

Today’s meeting is the first of three such consultations Sitharaman is holding with various stakeholders. The next interactions will be held in Chennai and Kolkata to interact with industry, economists, trade bodies and farmers.