Stories for believers.

Capital gains taxes were increased in this year's Budget. Long-term capital gains (LTCG) on real estate will not be indexed against inflation but the rate has been reduced from 20% to 12.5%. On shares, short term capital gains jumped from 15% to 20% while LTCG increased from 10% to 12.5%. Securities transaction tax (STT) on options and futures trading were also bumped up. ET. "And as Finance Secretary Somanathan explains, analysis of the tax base shows that capital gains tax doesn't really impact the middle class. 88% of capital gains income is earned by individuals with an income above Rs 1.5 million and 62% with an income greater than Rs 10 million." ET. Who can dare to argue with the exalted Finance Secretary? The problem is that, according to the census of 2011 (the 2021 census was abandoned due to Covid), 86.6% of households own their own homes, with the highest rate of 96.8% in Bihar and the lowest rate of 64.5% in Sikkim. wikipedia. Are all these households earning in excess of Rs 1.5 million a year? When children inherit parental property they often sell it and divide the proceeds and so this will be an enormous inheritance tax. The reason capital gains have gone up is because prices have increased due to high inflation in India, running at an average of about 6.5% since 2000. macrotrends. Also, "The data shows that 74 million people filed income tax returns in 2022-23, of which 51.6 million people, or 70%, had zero tax liability. This means that just 22.4 million people paid income tax in India in 2022-23, which works out to about 1.6% of the total population in India. The Print. The rulers are convinced that a large number of Indians are hiding their income and they terrorise us with excessive demands (ET), perhaps hoping that people will pay just to get some peace in their lives. If a vast number of Indians are hiding enormous incomes why are the same rulers distributing free food grains to 813.5 million people for five years, starting from 1 January 2024? pib.gov.in. Another canard tossed around is that Indians earning over Rs 50 million pay 39% in income tax, while in Canada they pay an average of 50.5%, and in Australia, France and Germany the top rate is 45%. moneycontrol.com. They conveniently forget that everyone in those countries get pensions, healthcare and other social services while taxpayers in India are rewarded with threats and harassment. MPs get perks worth tens of millions in addition to their salaries, as well as lifetime pensions. ET. The gold-plated salaries, perks and pensions of IAS officers (Byjus) would make civil servants in Western countries burn with envy. On top of that they get Dearness Allowance at 50% of salary and 13 other allowances at 25% of their salary. ET. As an example, then Prince Charles received a free bus pass in London on his 65th birthday. royalcentral.co. It may have been a joke but serves as a vivid example of how social benefits are available to everyone. Not just to the rulers, as in India. The government is being run by 'Bael Buddhi'. Stories are for believers.