Securities tax mop-up at 70% of Budget target amid market rally

The STT is a direct tax payable on the value of taxable securities transactions done through a stock exchange

More than 70 per cent of the budgetary target for collection of the securities transaction tax (STT) has been achieved by August itself, on the back of increased retail participation in the stock market. The STT collection as on August 12 stood at Rs 8,800 crore, against the target of Rs 12,500 crore. In fact, the growth is 64 per cent over the mop-up of Rs 5,291 crore until August 2020.

"The sharp increase in the STT collection can be attributed to an overheated market," J B Mohapatra, chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, told Business Standard.

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