Budget 2022: Fintech Sector Seeks Lesser Taxes, Easy Credit Access

Budget 2022 Expectations: Experts believe that it is most critical to acknowledge the role of fintech in the future of economics. They expect the government to reward and sustain fintech intervention to bolster India’s position as a global growth leader.

Budget 2022 Expectations: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present her third budget on February 1, 2022. Experts across the sectors have been suggesting measures to be introduced in Budget 2022. Most of the experts are asking for the incentivisation of industries and providing an easy line of credit to the people of India. Fintech sector experts want the government to reward the fast-growing sector by reducing taxes, for its role in India’s growth story.

Jaya Vaidhyanathan, CEO, BCT Digital, is optimistic about the country’s growth trajectory. She said, “Despite the obvious pandemic-induced impediments, economic recovery and expansion are still on track, and we seem to be moving closer to the US$5 trillion target.” Union Government had, earlier, set the target of achieving the $5 trillion GDP size, by 2024.

She continued, “Positive indicators in the stock market could also be interpreted as signs of progress. In addition, December 2021 saw robust GST collections of Rs.1.3 lakh crores, indicative of an era of monthly figures consistently above the Rs.1 lakh-crore-mark.”

‘Reward and Sustain Fintech Intervention’

The experts want the government to acknowledge the role fintech has played in helping India grow and reward the sector for the same. Vaidhyanathan added, “It is also most critical to acknowledge the role of fintech in the future of economics. The expectation is for the government to reward and sustain fintech intervention to bolster India’s position as a global growth leader.”

According to media reports, India is now home to the third-largest fintech ecosystem in the world. The industry in India is expected to grow at 22 per cent for the next five years. Some of the top fintech companies in India are Paytm, Policybazaar, MobiKwik, PhonePe and BillDesk.

‘Curb Illegal Digital Activities, Ease Credit Access’

Co-Founder and CEO of Ruptok, Ankur Gupta, said that Budget 2022 should introduce such regulations that curb illegal digital activities. Along with this, he added that credit access to the people of the country must be increased.

“Budget 2022 should introduce regulations that will help in greater credit access to people and curbing illegal activities while building trust in the digital lending process for the last mile”, he said.

Gupta further stated that the government must ensure that start-ups and MSMEs get credit on easy terms from online players. He said, “We expect the government to introduce regulatory changes that would create an easy line of access for start-ups & MSMEs to secure credit from online lending players. This will further help in boosting our economy.”

In 2021 itself, India saw the emergence of 44 unicorns, higher than any other year. This was despite the Covid-19 pandemic battering the economy. In total, these 44 companies were valued at over $92.77 billion.