Budget 2020: Experts decode impact on your personal finances

On mutual funds dividends being taxed in the hands of the recipient, Bajaj said, "This has come as a bit of surprise and I would not be surprised if this proposal is reviewed by the government because there are going to be a lot of representations from industry associations, we are going to do that. Essentially the intent as we know for the longest time investment in equity mutual funds has been tax-free and it is only in the last couple of years capital gains have been introduced on that. People are now used to that regime of paying around 10 percent tax on equity mutual fund investments. So if you make dividends taxable at the marginal rate and if you are in the 30 percent slab, then that is too hard a slab for an investor. It is almost illogical, it is hard to understand why it has been done. I am sure this will be relooked at but in the meantime, my advice to investors would be to look at the growth option and avail the capital gains regime because that is the simplest way to go around this if this were to remain."