Bre-Budget 2026: Capital-Market Leaders Pitch Tax Tweaks, Higher Retail Participation At Pre-Budget Meet

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

56% : (Image Source: Ministry Of Finance/X) Prominent capital-market participants have put forward a set of key policy recommendations to the finance minister during the pre-Budget consultations, focusing on tax rationalisation and boosting household participation in equities, sources told NDTV Profit.
52% : Stakeholders proposed aligning the short-term dividend tax rate for domestic investors with that of NRIs, sources added.
49% : A notable disparity in tax treatment of dividends also came under scrutiny.
49% : Currently, NRIs pay 20% on short-term dividends, whereas domestic investors can face rates of up to 42%, depending on their tax slab.
48% : One of the core suggestions according to the sources was to ensure that the securities transaction tax (STT) on cash equity trades remains lower than on derivatives, to incentivise long-term investing over speculative activity.
45% : They recommended that the tax be levied only on the profit component of a buyback rather than the entire amount, a shift they believe would encourage more companies to return capital to shareholders efficiently.
43% : The participants also called for a significant change in the buyback tax structure.

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