Budget 2013: Address core concerns to encourage investment, says USIBC to FM

WASHINGTON: The US India Business Council ( USIBC) has asked Finance Minister P Chidambaram to take a broad view on the core concerns impacting investment levels in India in the upcoming Union Budget.

The industry body has underscored the need to encourage investment via strong signals to the global business community in a pre-budget memorandum submitted to the Finance Minister.

A consequent return of investor confidence would harness the tremendous power of India's economy to restoring growth levels, USIBC said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This year's Budget presents a distinctive opportunity for India to realise the latent potential in long-awaited reforms, including in the insurance, pensions, technology, real estate, and infrastructure sectors. All economic indicators point to now being the right time," USIBC President Ron Somers said.

"We believe in the resolve of the government to work through political challenges and kick-start the engine of jobs and opportunity," he said.

"We strongly support the government's continued efforts on the Goods and Services Tax (GST). We believe the GST would dramatically increase government revenue while decreasing the cost of doing business across states, creating a 'win-win' dynamic that will be good for the economy," Somers said.

In its memorandum, USIBC expressed support for any actions in the Budget which would expand private sector participation in infrastructure investment, including capital markets incentives and land acquisition reforms.

Citing a return to clarity on controversial tax matters, USIBC commended the framework for the General Anti-Avoidance Rules ( GAAR) and indirect taxation recently provided by the Shome Committee, but emphasised that the final rules must be issued soon as investors require certainty that all assurances will be made into law.

The USIBC added that deferment of GAAR implementation until 2016 allows for needed business planning and thus increases investor certainty.