Can the tax arbitrage that exists between earning through dividends(~52%) vs earning through selling a stake (~24%) be the reason why most new-age businesses are not profitable? I think so. Money is like a river, it flows where the conditions are conducive to its flow.

The Govt capping the surcharge on LTCG when investing in unlisted companies to encourage investments in startups in the budget is a welcome move. But maybe the tax arbitrage shouldn’t be so large that everyone just focuses on valuations and not on profits & sustainability.

We need all types of businesses. Companies that aggressively spend on growth (apart from Google, FB, ads) which is plowed back to the economy; and companies that focus on profitability and being resilient, and help the economy even if the growth stops for a bit.

We had shared this post on the Rainmatter blog which we’ve updated post the recent change in LTCG taxation for unlisted securities in the budget.

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