Union Budget 2020: Industry Captains Welcome Abolition of DDT, Other Measures

Industry captains of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) welcomed many of the initiatives announced by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Union Budget 2020. The removal of the Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) that is levied on dividends issued by companies was widely welcomed by industrialists.

Dividend income will now instead be taxed only in the hands of investors as per the tax rate applicable to their income, she said, during the course of her Union Budget 2020 speech. Companies were required to pay DDT at 15%, but the effective rate reached as much as 20.50% with surcharge and cess added up.

FICCI welcomed the scrapping of DDT and cited it as one of its recommendations to the government.

CII also welcomed the abolition of DDT:

The FICCI said its recommendations on the capital market sector had been accepted by the government:

The FICCI also commended the impetus provided to the start-up sector:

Reacting to the allocations for the Agri sector, the FICCI thanked the government for taking its recommendations on agri-warehouse grid into account:

It also welcomed viability gap funding for healthcare targeting two-tier and three-tier cities:

CII also said that it welcomed the government's move on 100 water-stressed districts: