Tax-free limit should be increased: Raghav Chadda

New Delhi, Dec 16 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday participated in the parliamentary discussion on the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2025-26, terming it an "annual formality" since it involves a money bill that does not require Upper House approval.

However, he utilised the platform to offer constructive suggestions to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman aimed at boosting investments and refining tax policies.

Chadha highlighted the volatility in global capital flows, noting that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) withdrew approximately Rs 1.60 lakh crore from Indian equities between January and December 2025 amid uncertain international conditions.

In contrast, he praised domestic institutional investors (DIIs) for stepping in robustly, injecting around Rs 7 lakh crore into the market, thereby stabilising and protecting Indian equities.

"A basic principle of economics is to encourage investments," Chadha emphasised in his speech.

He advocated increasing the tax-free income limit to reward patient domestic capital and reduce the tax burden on investments.

"Investment in India is highly taxed," he said, calling for a shift in policy to nurture rather than penalise long-term domestic inflows.

Later, on his X handle, the MP elaborated on three specific suggestions presented to the Finance Minister, "Tax consumption if you must, but nurture investment. Patient domestic investment should be rewarded, not penalised.”

Acknowledging GST 2.0 as a landmark reform, he stressed the need for complete input tax credit pass-through to make it fully effective, and he proposed a bespoke Tokenisation Bill and a regulatory sandbox to facilitate fractionalised ownership of digital tokens via blockchain technology, promoting innovation in financial assets.

The Supplementary Demands for Grants, approved by Parliament on December 15, authorise additional expenditure of Rs 41,455 crore, primarily for fertiliser subsidies and other priorities.

Chadha's interventions come amid ongoing debates on economic resilience, with domestic investors playing a pivotal role in countering foreign outflows this year.

His suggestions underscore the opposition's push for pro-investment reforms to sustain India's growth momentum, even as the government defends its fiscal measures.

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