No tax on legitimate biz expenditure: PC

NEW DELHI: Assuring that anomalies in the Fringe Benefit Tax will be addressed, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said the government has no intention to tax any legitimate business expenditure.

"...there is no intention to tax legitimate business expenditure. I have asked my people to look at the entries to see if any unintended anomaly has crept in that needs to be
addressed," he said at a meeting organised by Ficci.

"We must wait for final shape of the Finance Bill to emerge," Chidambaram added.

He also indicated that 0.01 per cent tax on cash withdrawals from banks could be reconsidered.

"We are concerned about huge withdrawals of cash from banks every day. Such transactions, which distort economic level-playing field, will have to be addressed. If it cannot be addressed this way, it will have to be addressed in another way," the Finance Minister said.

He said that the Union Budget for 2005-06 has attempted most ambitious direct and indirect tax reforms.

"The excise duties have been lowered and they must converge around CENVAT rates," Chidambaram said.