The government on Wednesday said it had no plan to lower the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) levied on equity trades. “No, sir,” S S Palanimanickam, minister of state for finance, said in reply to a query on whether the government proposed to lower STT in the country. He, however, acknowledged that STT collections had dropped during the April-October period.
Collections from STT declined 17.9 per cent to Rs 2,958 crore in the April-October period from Rs 3,602 crore in the corresponding year-ago period, the minister said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The stock exchanges had asked the finance ministry to abolish STT, arguing that such a step would help boost stock market investments and promote an equity culture in the country. They also sought simpler compliance procedures and the imposition of lower costs on brokers to facilitate greater retail participation in the market.
