Everyone in the stock markets was hoping Finance Minister P Chidambaram will spring no surprise. And the finance minister didn't, except his decision to milk the booming stock markets by hiking the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) by 25 per cent. So instead of paying 0.1 per cent or 10 paise for every rupee worth of transaction, now investors will have to pay 0.125 per cent or 12.5 paise for every rupee worth of transaction.
