Fears of higher tax wipe 2.3t rupees off Indian stocks

Mumbai

A HIGHER surcharge on wealthy Indians in the budget has spooked non-resident and overseas funds enough to erase 2.3 trillion rupees (S$45.67 billion) in market value from companies in the S&P BSE Sensex in the three sessions since budget till July 9.

The reason: the realisation that the new tax rate applies not just to the super rich but also to trusts - a structure of choice for a large number of foreign funds that invest in the nation.

The proposal "seems to have inadvertently" dragged foreign portfolio investors (FPI) into the tax net and must be clarified by the government, said KR Sekar, a partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech last Friday proposed to increase the surcharge from 15 per cent to 25 per cent for those with taxable incomes of between 20 million rupees and 50 million rupees, and to 37 per cent for those earning more than 50 million rupees.

This takes the effective tax rate for those two groups to 39 per cent and 42.74 per cent, respectively.

Global and non-resident investors participate in India via non-corporate trusts and the so-called association of persons (AOPs). The problem is that the structures are treated on a par with individuals for tax purposes.

That has led to concerns about the levy being applicable to foreigners at a time when the nation has emerged as Asia's biggest destination for equity money in 2019.

"An investment vehicle - such as a category III alternative investment or an FPI - taxed at a fund level is likely to get affected as the income may easily exceed 50 million rupees," said Vaibhav Sanghavi, co-chief executive officer at Avendus Capital PBC Markets Alternate Strategies in Mumbai. BLOOMBERG