Big relief for Infosys, Wipro as tax on share buyback exempted

BENGALURU: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s proposal of not charging 20% tax from companies that announced their share buyback programmes before July 5, has come as a huge relief for Infosys and Wipro. The Bengaluru-based tech giants which have been doing resaonably well in an uncertain market scenario had announced their buybacks in January and March, respectively.

While Infosys announced a buyback of Rs 8,260 crore, Wipro also made public its buyback of Rs 10,500 crore. Friday’s announcement will save Rs 2,100 crore for Wipro and Rs 1,600 crore for Infosys. “It’s a huge boost to corporates and will enhance India’s position as a competitive destination for fresh foreign investments. ‘Make in India’ now gets a fresh impetus with reduced rates of corporate income tax,” Jatin Dalal, Chief Financial Officer, Wipro Limited said.