Budget to focus on rural, social sides
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday hinted at measures in the Budget to boost farm sector, irrigation, food processing and social sectors.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday hinted at measures in the Budget to boost farm sector, irrigation, food processing and social sectors, even as India Inc demanded simplification of Fringe Benefit Tax and rationalisation of taxes.
At the two-hour long pre-budget meeting with industry captains here, Chidambaram broadly highlighted the need to boost the rural sector and high growth and job-creating industrial sectors like food-processing, textile, pharma, petrochem and telecom.
The minister is understood to have laid emphasis on fulfilling the commitments made in the Common Minium Programme to give priority to social sectors like health and education, which required substantial investments both from government and private sectors.
There was a broad consensus among India Inc for simplifying FBT and lowering the overall tax burden on corporates, now at over 40 per cent.
"If you don't abolish it (FBT), you can simplify it," CII president Y C Deveshwar told reporters after the meeting. FICCI and Assocham also pitched for scrapping or simplifying FBT.
"There is a need to review the existing FBT provisions and simplify it. Genuine business expenditure incurred by corporates should be allowed deduction," FICCI vice president N Srinivasan said.
Instead of FBT, Assocham president Anil K Agarwal and senior vice president Venugopal N Dhoot said Finance Minister should hike corporate tax by 2 per cent to offset losses that government will incur on account of removal of FBT.
At the two-hour long pre-budget meeting with industry captains here, Chidambaram broadly highlighted the need to boost the rural sector and high growth and job-creating industrial sectors like food-processing, textile, pharma, petrochem and telecom.
The minister is understood to have laid emphasis on fulfilling the commitments made in the Common Minium Programme to give priority to social sectors like health and education, which required substantial investments both from government and private sectors.
There was a broad consensus among India Inc for simplifying FBT and lowering the overall tax burden on corporates, now at over 40 per cent.
"If you don't abolish it (FBT), you can simplify it," CII president Y C Deveshwar told reporters after the meeting. FICCI and Assocham also pitched for scrapping or simplifying FBT.
"There is a need to review the existing FBT provisions and simplify it. Genuine business expenditure incurred by corporates should be allowed deduction," FICCI vice president N Srinivasan said.
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Instead of FBT, Assocham president Anil K Agarwal and senior vice president Venugopal N Dhoot said Finance Minister should hike corporate tax by 2 per cent to offset losses that government will incur on account of removal of FBT.
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