New Delhi, July 6 Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget Speech informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that he proposes to exempt the income of New Pension System (NPS) Trust from the income tax and any dividend paid to this Trust from Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT).

The Finance Minister also added that all purchases sales of equity shares and derivatives by the NPS Trust will also be exempt from this Securities Transaction Tax (STT).

Mukherjee further proposed to enable self-employed persons to participate in the NPS and avail of the tax benefits available thereto.

Underlining that NPS will continue to be subjected to the Exempt-Exempt-Taxed (EET) method of tax treatment of savings, he said that it is proposed to provide necessary fiscal support to the NPS for the establishment of much needed social security system.

"The New Pension System is an important milestone in the development of a sustainable, efficient, voluntary and defined pension system in India," said Mukherjee. (ANI)