Budget 2024: Industry Leaders Urge Tax Reforms In Meeting With Finance Minister

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the third pre-budget consultation on Thursday with industry leaders and associations to discuss the General Budget 2024–25 in New Delhi. The full budget is expected to be presented in Parliament next month.

During the pre-budget meeting, some of the industry head honchos urged the government to fix tax arbitrage wherever it exists. These leaders also made a case for tax sops in the upcoming FY25 budget for the deepening of the market.

This was the second pre-budget consultation, which was attended by leading experts in the financial and capital markets sectors in connection with the forthcoming general budget 2024–25, the finance ministry said in a post on X.

The tax policies need to be stable and long-term-oriented, Arun Kohli, managing director and country head of Morgan Stanley India Co., told PTI. Participants also made their points on capital gains tax and securities transaction tax, he said.

George Alexander Muthoot, MD of Muthoot Group, said that some of the players pitched for deepening the market and providing some tax incentives.

"We've suggested that since NBFC credit has grown and RBI has flagged overdependence on banks, allocation of funds from SIDBI and NABARD could increase for refinancing of NBFCs," Raman Aggarwal, director of the Finance Industry Development Council, told PTI.

Non-banking finance companies also sought clarity on GST demand for co-lending and payment of GST on service fees, Agarwal said.

Asset management companies discussed issues related to GIFT City and the way to retain capital within the country, he said.

(With inputs from PTI.)