The Bengal Chamber views the Budget as positive, rational and inclusive.
The initiatives taken/mentioned during the interim Budget have been addressed and engaged in the current Budget.
The fiscal deficit estimated at 6.2% during the interim Budget has actually been revised to 6.8% for 2009-2010 - not a major deviation. We view this as a major stimulus for generating greater demand and thereby boost economic growth.
Focus has been continued with some additional stress on agriculture, welfare, infrastructure, exports, minorities, social securities schemes, environment and climate change, etc.
Some special attention has been given to West Bengal also, like rehabilitation programmes for Aila (Rs.1000 crores), setting up a mega handloom cluster and university in Murshidabad.
The FM spelt out certain strategic directions in the area of fertilizer subsidy and petrol/diesel pricing. He also mentioned increased allocation towards infrastructure in the next few years, going up to 9% of GDP by 2014.
On the taxes front, he mentioned some structural/policy initiatives like the centralized processing of returns and introduction of the direct tax code within a period of 45 days. He also reiterated the introduction of GST from April 2010 which would be a dual structure covering a Central GST and a State GST.
In respect of corporate tax rates, no changes have been made but he has announced some reduction in the personal tax exemption limits for all groups. The surcharge on personal tax has also been removed which will give more money to the consumer, thereby increasing demand.
A very significant aspect of this year’s Budget has been abolition of fringe benefits tax which will effectively reduce the corporate tax outflow in the current year. Also the increase of MAT by 5% is sought to be compensated by the increase in the carry forward period extended to 10 years.
The sunset tax for tax benefits in the exports sector has been extended by one year which is a welcome step.
The FM has introduced some very important dispute resolution mechanisms in this year’s Budget.
On the service tax front, some very critical changes have been brought about in the operating side to aid the export community.
Excise duty and customs duty have been rationalized in some cases but no overall impacts are seen.
To conclude, we view the Budget as positive, pragmatic and relevant to the current context and environment and will stimulate demand. However, the market possibly expected some details on reforms, means of bridging the fiscal gap, etc. which we anticipate will unravel in the days to come.
The initiatives taken/mentioned during the interim Budget have been addressed and engaged in the current Budget.
The fiscal deficit estimated at 6.2% during the interim Budget has actually been revised to 6.8% for 2009-2010 - not a major deviation. We view this as a major stimulus for generating greater demand and thereby boost economic growth.
Focus has been continued with some additional stress on agriculture, welfare, infrastructure, exports, minorities, social securities schemes, environment and climate change, etc.
Some special attention has been given to West Bengal also, like rehabilitation programmes for Aila (Rs.1000 crores), setting up a mega handloom cluster and university in Murshidabad.
The FM spelt out certain strategic directions in the area of fertilizer subsidy and petrol/diesel pricing. He also mentioned increased allocation towards infrastructure in the next few years, going up to 9% of GDP by 2014.
On the taxes front, he mentioned some structural/policy initiatives like the centralized processing of returns and introduction of the direct tax code within a period of 45 days. He also reiterated the introduction of GST from April 2010 which would be a dual structure covering a Central GST and a State GST.
In respect of corporate tax rates, no changes have been made but he has announced some reduction in the personal tax exemption limits for all groups. The surcharge on personal tax has also been removed which will give more money to the consumer, thereby increasing demand.
A very significant aspect of this year’s Budget has been abolition of fringe benefits tax which will effectively reduce the corporate tax outflow in the current year. Also the increase of MAT by 5% is sought to be compensated by the increase in the carry forward period extended to 10 years.
The sunset tax for tax benefits in the exports sector has been extended by one year which is a welcome step.
The FM has introduced some very important dispute resolution mechanisms in this year’s Budget.
On the service tax front, some very critical changes have been brought about in the operating side to aid the export community.
Excise duty and customs duty have been rationalized in some cases but no overall impacts are seen.
To conclude, we view the Budget as positive, pragmatic and relevant to the current context and environment and will stimulate demand. However, the market possibly expected some details on reforms, means of bridging the fiscal gap, etc. which we anticipate will unravel in the days to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment