Whether it is the UPA or the NDA, both governments appear to be on the same page when it comes to “attacking” the salaried class (“ >A disappointment for the salaried class ,” March 1). There seems to have been no attempt to encourage public savings, which in turn could be used to build infrastructure and enable a robust economy. The Budget is also gravely silent on fund allocations for the Seventh Pay Commission award, due for implementation in 2016. Hapless Central government staff appear to have no relief in sight.
The steps to retrieve black money are only tall claims (“ >10-year RI for concealing income ,” March 1). The only silver lining is the proposal to set up AIIMS-like facilities in various parts of the country, Tamil Nadu included (“ >Sops for States going to polls ,” March 1).
H. Ghouse Baig,
Tiruchi
Though it is a pragmatic and progressive budget, Mr. Jaitley has failed to focus on vital issues that affect our economic growth, such as black money. The root causes of black money and corruption are heavy taxation of not only the corporate world but also the general population. Punishment is no immediate solution, but there must be incentives to get such persons back on the path of honesty. Increasing service tax rates will be detrimental to the growth of small-scale entrepreneurs, who depend on large corporates. Delayed settlement of bills by them jeopardises small businesses. Scrapping service tax will help small-scale industries to flourish and create more openings for service-oriented businesses. The Finance Minister has ignored art and culture-oriented industries which are a strength in a country like India as a huge part of its foreign exchange earnings are from this field.
V.P. Dhananjayan,
Chennai
The pro-rich bias is unmistakable. Instead of broadening the direct tax base for revenue mobilisation and to increase the tax-GDP ratio, Mr. Jaitley has chosen to forgo over Rs.8,000 crore in income tax, benefiting the rich, while without any compunction he has increased the burden on consumers across-the-board by hiking both excise duties and service tax to gain an additional amount of over Rs.23,000 crore — which is quite a regressive step. The so-called “tax incentives” for the business class account for a loss of revenue to the extent of nearly Rs.5.9 lakh crore, more than the total fiscal deficit, without putting in place any effective mechanism to monitor whether the result of such largesse will result in any public good. At the same time, the Minister has ignored the legitimate expectation of many middle income-group taxpayers for at least a symbolic increase in their exemption limit. Where is the ‘ Achhe Din ’?
S.K. Choudhury,
Bengaluru
Looking at it from an accountant’s point of view, one wonders why there is such a wide variance in the estimates and revised estimates both on the revenue and expenditure sides in every budget, making a mockery of the number- crunching exercise. While minor variations in numbers are always understandable, as projections and actuals might not match in an uncertain economic environment, what is surprising is that the estimates always diverge significantly from the revised estimates, making variance analysis difficult. It will be worthwhile if Mr. Jaitley makes a review of the previous years’ budgets and explains and justifies the variance of actuals and projections in respect of at least the major heads.
Manickam Ravindran,
Dubai
Senior citizens are sorely disappointed. A senior citizen/pensioner can think of increasing the premium payment towards health insurance, other investments like the National Pension Scheme or availing his or her calculation of tax claim benefits for up to Rs.4,44,200 when he has a disposable income. Besides, one cannot increase the premium on health insurance at age 65 if he has been declared to have ‘pre-existing’ diseases.
R. Venkateswaran,
Chennai
The focus areas of this Budget are infrastructure development, employment-generation, curbing black money and getting more of the poor and the middle class under pension cover. But it is unfriendly towards farmers. A normal taxpayer doesn’t get much from this budget while it is a boon for the corporate taxpayer. The government must ensure that this reduction in corporate tax is transformed into employment-generation. Sufficient allocation of funds for power projects and solar projects has been made, but no attention has been paid to LED lighting (“ >Budget fails to cheer clean energy sector ,” March 1).
N.N.D. Pavan Kumar,
Achanta, Andhra Pradesh
Describing the Budget as ‘pro-corporate’ is right, as for obvious reasons all political parties have to keep the corporates in good humour. Individual taxpayers expected a lot from the BJP government but have been let down. Though certain investments have been given more tax sops, these benefits cannot be availed to the fullest extent by one and all. Dr. Subramanian Swamy has been a vociferous advocate of the abolition of income tax. Will he be able to ever convince his party to give in to his wish?
K.R. Jayaprakash Rao,
Mysuru
Mr. Jaitley has found the common man the easiest target to squeeze revenue out of. Raising service tax from 12.36 per cent to 14 per cent is atrocious. The hapless consumer will now be underwriting the bulk of the government’s largesse to corporates. In a consumption-driven economy, an encumbered consumer is a precursor to diminished economic activity.
R. Narayanan,
Ghaziabad
As an NRI, I have reason to be cheerful on more counts than one ( >Editorial, March 1 ). Proposals like a reduction in corporate tax by 5 per cent over a period of four years, issue of gold bonds and tax free infrastructure bonds, single window system for regulatory permissions, revival of Public Private Partnership for infrastructure development, an incremental plan for tax free infra, a tough stance on black money and the removal of anomalies in capital investments to treat NRI investors on a par with residents will all help encourage NRIs to invest in the infrastructure development of India, and also opt for gold bonds instead of accumulating gold.
Suddapalli Bhaskara Rao,
Muscat, Oman
It is disappointing that there has been no particular stress on boosting indigenous research and development, essential for the success of the ‘Make in India’ campaign. Obviously, an element of dynamism and vigour has to be introduced on the R&D front. Special benefits could have been announced for students and scientists excelling in innovation efforts. While the price of crude oil has fallen in recent times, production of algae-based biofuel is appropriate for India’s future fuel needs. Funds could have been allotted for research and development in fields such as algae biofuel and offshore wind power, which have the potential to transform the Indian energy scenario.
N.S. Venkataraman,
Chennai
The Budget has forged a delicate balance taking into account India’s multiple demands. Though it cannot please everyone, some of the measures projected, like gold monetisation, ‘ >Nai Manzil ’ for youth, insurance cover for the 18-50 age group, deduction of Rs.30,000 for senior citizens towards medical expenditure, unearthing black money and a new debt management agency are all certain to kick-start the economy. The hike in the rate of service tax is likely to pinch the purse of the common man.
K.R. Srinivasan,
Secunderabad
In the backdrop of a rise by 40 per cent in cases of cancer due to tobacco consumption and nearly one million new cases recorded every year in India, increasing the excise duty on cigarettes and a similar proposal for cigars, cheroots and cigarillos is to be applauded. For people who are affected by passive smoking, this is a great moment of joy and one waits to see the results. This step must help save millions in India (“ >Smoking, air travel to cost more ,” March 1).
Swathi K. Laxminarayan,
Bengaluru
