Removal of angel tax on startups to help attract investments, promote growth of budding entrepreneurs: Goyal

24 Jul 2024 Evaluate

In a big relief to startups, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that removal of angel tax for all classes of investors will help attract investments in the segment and further promote the growth of budding entrepreneurs. The move would mainly help emerging sectors like deeptech, artificial intelligence, clean energy, among others, which require a large amount of capital at an early stage.

Angel tax (income tax at the rate of 30 per cent) refers to the income tax that the government imposes on funding raised by unlisted companies, or startups, if their valuation exceeds the company’s fair market value. Goyal said ‘It will further strengthen the startup ecosystem of the country. It was a long-pending demand of the industry. It will help attract investments.’ He added ‘I am quite sure that, it (the decision) will take care of everybody’s interest’.

Section 56(2)(viib) of the Income Tax Act provides that the amount raised by a startup in excess of its fair market value would be deemed as income from other sources and would be taxed at 30 per cent. Touted as an anti-abuse measure, this section was introduced in 2012. It is dubbed as ‘angel tax’ due to its impact on investments made by angel investors in startup ventures. Earlier also, the government has made several amendments to make this tax regime more conducive for investors and startups. A change was made under the Finance Act 2023 proposed to include investments from foreign investors or non-residents within the scope of the angel tax with effect from April 2024. As on date, about 1.44 lakh startups are recognised by the DPIIT. 


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