Suresh Prabhu Raises Angel Tax Issue Of Startups With Finance Ministry
“We have taken up the issue,” Suresh Prabhu tweeted today in response to Mohandas Pai’s tweet about angel tax.
The Commerce and Industry Ministry has taken up the issue of “angel tax” notices being sent to startups with the Finance Ministry, Union Minister Suresh Prabhu said.
Several startups have raised concerns on taxation of angel funds under Section 56 of the Income Tax Act, which provides for taxation of funds received by an entity.
An income tax official said, “Notices issued on angel tax to startups may be for those that are not recognised by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.”
Earlier in April, the government gave relief to startups by allowing them to avail tax concession if total investment, including funding from angel investors, does not exceed Rs 10 crore.
An angel investor picking up stakes in a startup should have a minimum net worth of Rs 2 crore or should have an average returned income of over Rs 25 lakh in the preceding three financial years, according to a notification by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
The Section 56 of the Income Tax Act provides that where a closely held company issues its shares at a price more than its fair market value, the amount received in excess of the fair market value will be charged to tax the company as income from other sources.
Startups also enjoy income tax benefit for three out of seven consecutive assessment years.
To avail the concessions, startups would have to approach an eight-member inter-ministerial board of certification.
An angel investor is the one who funds a startup when it is taking baby steps to establish itself in the competitive market.
Normally, about 300-400 startups get angel funding in an year.
The government launched the Startup India initiative in January 2016 to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship.