Investing in turbulent times

Veeru had just had his bath and was settling down to a hot poori-bhaji breakfast when there was hectic knocking at the door. Veeru: Gabbar, itni subah! Come join me and have some poori! Now, don't start asking me about the budget and why your funds are doing badly. It will ruin my appetite. Gabbar: Haha! I know what you will say. Like a broken record, you will ask me to continue with my SIPs. I am quite happy about the budget because super-rich people like Basanti now have to pay more tax. I heard that after including surcharge and all, people earning over Rs 5 crore will have to pay a tax of 42.7 per cent. I like it! India has so much population, so we can't make the poor rich anytime soon. So why not make the rich poor! Veeru: Very horrible idea, Gabbar. It is billionaires like Basanti who contribute to much of India's taxes. The top 5 per cent of income-tax payers make up 80 per cent of our income-tax collections. If they shift out of India, the economy would suffer. The super-rich in any country make a large contribution to the economy through employment creation, spending and risk-taking. Gabbar: That is certainty true. Basanti has more than 20 people employed in her house itself. But I don't mind her shifting to Switzerland so I can visit her. Veeru: Jai! Come in, we were busy with budget discussions. Jai: I was looking for you at the tea shop. Hope you both are not bashing up poor Nirmalaji over pooris. Yes, super-rich tax, etc., is not a great idea, but now it is getting to be too much. You cannot blame the FM, that too a 60-day old one, for all the portfolio mistakes you have committed. Gabbar: I haven't made any portfolio mistakes, Jai. I got out of small-cap funds and all long ago. I

This article was originally published on September 05, 2019.