Sitharaman makes no commitment on investment tax changes ahead of budget

India's finance minister said the government would hear investors' views on taxation but did not promise to remove or revise the levies.

At the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi on October 13, Nirmala Sitharaman said budget preparations had begun. She said it was not the best time to disclose which proposals she would or would not consider.

The discussion concerned long-term capital gains tax and securities transaction tax. The previous day, State Bank of India's research unit proposed abolishing the former for equities and extending the investment holding period to two or three years. That is an analyst recommendation rather than an adopted government decision.

Sitharaman also said the Reserve Bank of India was trying to curb excessive rupee volatility, not fix the currency at a particular level. She attributed pressure on the rupee to external challenges and said the country's economic fundamentals and foreign exchange reserves remained sound.

The report gives the existing long-term capital gains tax rate for foreign equity investors as 12.5%. The 2026 budget retained the framework introduced in 2024. Sitharaman announced no change to that framework.