Budget treated equity investing in line with cigarette or alcohol use

From the stock market’s point of view, this budget is at best a hogwash. Looks like, the government treats investing in line with cigarette and alcohol use. That's why it finds reason to impose taxes on equity in some form or other. This year, instead of abolishing taxes on dividend, it has imposed a tax on share buybacks. Both are ridiculous, because both are exercised with tax-paid money. Dividend instantly gives expensive money in the hands of investors, while buyback creates value.

It seems the government looks at stock investing as rich people’s business. They do not realise majority of the investors are poor janta. Over 90 per cent people do not make money. Forget making money, over 50 per cent investors lose their hard-earned money in the stock market. The government does not realise this, because it doesn't interact with them. It interacts only with rich brokers and money managers.

Media take interviews of suited-booted portfolio managers and Harvard-educated foreign institutional fund managers, who anyway make money and are the biggest beneficiaries of the capital market at the cost of these poor investors.

People who constantly make money irrespective of market conditions are fund managers, brokers, Sebi, stock exchanges and the government itself.

These are the intermediaries who make money in every situation, no matter whether the average investor is making or losing money. As much as 90 per cent their revenues are generated from people failing in the market every year. Looking at them, the government feels the condition of the stock market is very good. Over 90 per cent of investors are actually helpless people.

Looking at the primary index at all-time high, outsiders – including the government – feel investors are making money. The primary index is deceptive; it doesn't portray the real picture. Five stocks move the index and the government thinks all is well.

It does not realise only 1 per cent of people invest in index stocks. Small investors are the biggest victims of all the manipulations happening in the midcap and smallcap stocks.

It is a no-brainer to make money in bank fixed deposits or gold, but it’s a Herculean task to make money in equity. Only if our policy makers understood this and treated equity differently!