I can recall a time, probably around 10 years ago, when I was able to meet one those rare Chartered Accountants who were very knowledgeable about both markets and taxation. He introduced me to me at a party with a friend. He asked me what I did for a living and I replied that I trade. They struck up a connection and began a wonderful conversation. He asked me some questions during our engaging conversation.

• How do I declare my profits and/or losses from market activity?
• Can I split speculative and non-speculative income from my business?
• He also asked me about the books that I was supposed to keep.

My ignorance prevented me from giving him the answers he needed.

I was a keen learner. I learned a lot about trading strategies and markets, but very little about taxation.

Perhaps the main reason I didn't learn about taxation was because I was afraid of the heavy use of jargon and random references to sections, subsections and circulars. I will admit that I did once try to learn more about taxation. I visited my broker's office to meet my dealer, and I asked him questions about taxation. Here's what he said: "Arre, why do you seem so concerned?" It is simple. Long-term capital taxes are 0% and short term capital gains tax 15%.

It was more than that. I wanted to learn more about the subject from someone who knew more. It was a good thing I had the opportunity to meet the Regional Head for the stockbroking firm. I enthusiastically asked him questions about taxation for market participants, but he repeated the same thing as my dealer. Even worse was the fact that the regional manager seemed to be proud of his answer while I gave him that sloppy one.

I was frustrated and visited a CA. He said basically the same thing as my dealer, but he used fancy language and complicated the entire matter to no end. I was frustrated that no one had written about the subject online and there were no articles on the topic. Thus, my quest for information on taxation related to markets ended in defeat.

Retrospectively, if I had known more about the topic and had I gotten more information, I would have clearly benefited in many ways.

I am certain that there are many investors and traders in the same situation I was years ago. This is true, as our taxation blog (which was created a few years back) has received more than 10000 questions. This is in addition to the many emails and questions received on Trading Q&A.

This is why we are pleased to present our new module on stock exchange box, appropriately titled "Markets & Taxation". This module covers everything you need to know about taxes related to markets, including short-term capital gains and treating intraday trades in speculative income. We also cover Section 44AD & Section 44ADA.

Here's the best part: Simran wrote the entire module. This means we learn taxation from a trader's/investor's viewpoint and not from the CA's. This is a significant difference in the topic story. We can learn the most important topics from a skilled trader without getting lost in the taxation jungle.

Finally, I cannot imagine stockbrokers giving such valuable information to clients if I go back in time. Stockbrokers have been known to keep valuable information in their possession and only share it with select clients. This is something I am sure you will agree with, especially if your experience in trading Indian markets has been long. Indian stock brokers have a reputation for being expensive and snobby.

The stockbroking industry is gradually recognizing that every customer, regardless of size, deserves the best. This shift in attitude is causing a revolution in the industry. I believe Stock market box is the epicenter of this revolution, changing the way Indian broking works. Stock market box offers everything you need, including high-quality tools for trading, better trader education and ready-to-use tax-friendly reports.

Please explore this module on Markets & Taxation. You will feel more confident in taxation matters and will no longer fear the taxman, I can guarantee that!

Stay connected and profitable.