Budget 2015 is innovative: YM Deosthalee, CMD, L&T Finance Holdings

NEW DELHI: India Inc on Saturday cheered the road map for lowering corporate taxation, abolition of wealth tax and steps to check black money menace, while calling the Union Budget a "visionary" document.

Industry leaders welcomed the steps to check black money menace, including the 10-year imprisonment for hiding foreign assets, along with a host of other tough measures including dis-incentivising of cash dealings in real estate and other transactions.

YM Deosthalee, CMD, L&T Finance Holdings, said, "The Budget document is a whiff of fresh air by being innovative in its approach, simple in its structure and being reform oriented. It approaches the task of re-engineering India by adopting a holistic perspective of addressing systemic issues and legislating structural changes."

"A clear mandate to boost infrastructure and manufacturing sectors is evident through assorted measures. It also strives to revive the investment cycle by directing savings and investment towards nation building. Summarily, the Government is now a significant stakeholder and a facilitator in providing minimum government and maximum governance," said Deosthalee.

After a gap of 10 years, the government today announced cut in corporate tax by 5 per cent to 25 per cent over four years starting April 2016, but tax exemptions and incentives to the industry will be withdrawn.

Corporate tax collection in the current fiscal is estimated at Rs 4,26,079 crore. For 2015-16, the collection is estimated at Rs 4,70,628 crore.

In 2005, the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram had reduced the corporate tax to 30 per cent from 35 per cent.