Over 200 cos announce dividend plans
Over 200 cos have already announced dividend payouts before the proposed hike in levy comes into effect.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Finance minister P Chidambaram may not have found favour with Corporate India with his Budget proposal for additional tax on dividends, but investors are not complaining as over 200 companies have already announced interim dividend payouts before the proposed hike in levy comes into effect. Making things even merrier for the market, companies are also rushing in with announcements for allotment of shares under the employee stock option plan (Esop), an area that caught the FM’s attention in this year’s Budget for collecting taxes.
Ever since FM presented his Union Budget for 2007-08 , as many as 181 companies listed on the BSE have announced their plans to pay interim dividends in just 10 days, while 19 companies have made public their intention to allot shares under Esop before the Budget proposals come into effect on April 1.
Besides, a number of companies listed on other exchanges have also announced such plans and the list is multiplying day by day and the numbers of companies making dividend payments and allotting shares under Esop plan in the current month are expected to be much larger.
While FM said that tax rates for Esops are yet to be finalised, he tried to play down the hike in DDT saying this year’s Budget was aimed at benefiting the common man and the tax was to be paid by companies alone, the move is expected to lead to additional tax burden of thousands of crore for the companies.
The FM had said in his Budget speech that rate of DDT would be raised from 12.5% to 15% on dividends distributed by companies. He also proposed to bring the Esops under FBT ambit.
Ever since FM presented his Union Budget for 2007-08 , as many as 181 companies listed on the BSE have announced their plans to pay interim dividends in just 10 days, while 19 companies have made public their intention to allot shares under Esop before the Budget proposals come into effect on April 1.
Besides, a number of companies listed on other exchanges have also announced such plans and the list is multiplying day by day and the numbers of companies making dividend payments and allotting shares under Esop plan in the current month are expected to be much larger.
While FM said that tax rates for Esops are yet to be finalised, he tried to play down the hike in DDT saying this year’s Budget was aimed at benefiting the common man and the tax was to be paid by companies alone, the move is expected to lead to additional tax burden of thousands of crore for the companies.
The FM had said in his Budget speech that rate of DDT would be raised from 12.5% to 15% on dividends distributed by companies. He also proposed to bring the Esops under FBT ambit.
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