The current NDA government have been very supportive of the Indian Startup Ecosystem. When it comes to the budget for the year 2018, the one thing that really affects startups is the direct and indirect taxations proposed by the government for the current year. The Union Budget 2018 created quite a bit of unrest in the startup community regarding reforms in Angel Tax and use of cryptocurrencies. Here is how the Union Budget of 2018 will affect the startup ecosystem.
Some of the biggest proposals revealed during the Budget was the plan to create a new regulatory regime for venture capital funds and angel investors. Not just that, a national programme for artificial intelligence for furthering the growth of technology has also been introduced. Jaitley also revealed a proposal that outlined a plan to set up five lakh Wi-Fi hotspots in rural areas and aims at increasing the usage of hybrid instruments to attract venture capital investment.
However, the complete exclusion of Angel Tax in the policy announcements clipped the wings of early-stage startups, most of which depend on capital from angel investors for the initial boost. Speaking about the venture capital firms and angel investment, Arun Jaitley said, “Venture capital funds and angel investors need an innovative and special developmental and regulatory regime for their growth.”
Jaitley also highlighted the government’s initiatives and added the government will be taking extra measures to strengthen the environment for their growth and “successful operation” of alternative investment funds (AIF) in India. Cryptocurrencies, however, will not be one of those alternate means.
In the Budget, Jaitley clarified that although cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins are still illegal in India, the government would take a look at the blockchain technologies. Along with blockchain, the finance minister also singled out emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI,) internet of things (IoT) and 3D printing. For this purpose, policy think tank, NITI Aayog will be working on creating a national programme that will stoke research and result in applications in these areas.
The government raised the ceiling for the 25% corporate tax bracket up from Rs. 50 crores earlier to Rs. 250 crores annual turnover. Meanwhile, the announcement of connecting rural India with 5 lakh Wifi hotspots will facilitate the growth of a host of internet enabled services including ecommerce, online education, health tech and others.
In order to improve the women employment rate, the EPF and Miscellaneous provision act will also be amended to reduce women contribution to 8% for the first 3 years of their employment. This reform can help in bringing more women contribution to the formal sector and ensure better gender diversity in the business sector.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing and medical research startups will also get a boost with the Rs. 12,000 crores investment made to bring health closer to home.
However, multiple startup experts agree the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates for startups need to be reduced and they should also be allowed to file tax returns on an annual basis. While the startup community has welcomed a majority of these reforms, they are also seeking for clarity for many of these proposals.
Speaking about the reforms and the budget in general, the Chief Executive Officer of Paytm Payments Bank said, “We welcome the budget initiatives for promoting financial inclusion through higher penetration of banking services, increased health insurance coverage under National Health Protection Scheme and easy access to credit. The increased outlay in infrastructure including wifi spots will extend benefits of the internet and technology-enabled services to masses. Additionally, development and digitization of agricultural markets will bring farmers into the formal economy. We look forward to leveraging these initiatives to provide digital payments, banking and other financial services to rural India.”
