Arun Jaitley has served a double whammy an LTCG tax and no corporate tax relief in Union Budget 2018. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/MintIn his first budget speech as finance minister in 2014, Arun Jaitley had voiced his government’s resolve to stoke investment and kick-start demand. It would be fair to say that in his last budget as finance minister before general elections in 2019, he has firmly shut the lid on that aspiration. A combination of what he did and what he didn’t in Budget 2018 has dashed any hopes investors and companies may have had. In December, US President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, effectively slashing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, a 78-year-low.

Source: Mint February 01, 2018 12:00 UTC