‘Can’t answer sitting here’: FM Sitharaman’s to stock broker who says ‘Govt is my sleeping partner’

During an event at a BSE on Wednesday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman faced a challenging moment when a stock broker voiced worries about high taxes affecting stock market brokers and real estate deals. Describing the government as a “sleeping partner,” the broker highlighted the unequal burden, where the government profits without sharing operational responsibilities.

The broker highlighted that even though they invest money and take risks, the government earns a lot from different taxes like GST, IGST, Stamp Duty, Securities Transaction Tax (STT), and Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) Tax.

“I am investing everything, I am taking a whole lot of risk and government of India is taking away entire profit. How can a broker function with hoards of taxes where government of India is my sleeping partner and I am working partner with no income”.

In second question “Broker highlighted how much tax you have to pay when you buy a house”.

The government has removed the cash component from buying a house. In present times, buying a house in a place like Mumbai is a nightmare because I am paying tax and I have white money…now we have to pay everything in cheque, so my bank balance is everything that I have left after paying taxes to government of India…Now again when I am going to buy a house I have to pay stamp duty, GST, which amount to 11 per cent,” he said, asking how the finance minister will assist an individual with limited resources to buy a house.

While attempting to defect the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in response remarked “A sleeping partner cannot answer sitting here”

Nirmala Sitharaman, batting for middle class investors, raised concerns about the rapid growth of retail futures and options (F&O) trading, warning that it could potentially harm both the markets and individual households financial stability. She emphasized the importance of safeguarding household finances, noting the significant changes occurring in this regard.