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At
every location that Budgee visited, — be it the business
districts or Dalal Street, the financial nerve centre —
the piggy bank was engulfed by curious onlookers. When
told that Budgee was collecting suggestions for the budget
on behalf of ET, there was a mad scramble for pen and
paper as everyone had a suggestion for the FM.
Corporate India too was enthused with this novel
initiative and gladly took time off their busy schedules
to participate. Adi Godrej, chairman of Godrej Industries,
who was one of the first CEOs to interact with Budgee,
lauded the concept. Mr Godrej wanted Budgee to inform the
FM that along with infrastructure, the Budget should
initiate measures to alleviate poverty. Budgee moved from
verdant Vikhroli towards Andheri where water king Ramesh
Chauhan, chairman of Bisleri International, was patiently
waiting to say hello to Budgee.
He posed with Budgee and told him that collecting taxes is
important for development but the government should
initiate steps to simplify the taxation process.
“Corporate India is not averse to paying direct taxes or
an increase to that effect. But taxes such as the fringe
benefit tax is unnecessary and should be done away
with,” said Chauhan.
Budgee then moved on to the common man who had plenty to
say about what the FM should be doing to make the aaam
aadmi happy. One of the most common demands made by the
common man was demanding that the working class be given
greater tax relief. While issues such as infrastructure,
roads, housing were raised, there were some interesting
suggestions in store as well for the finance minister.
Some women were not happy that there was discrimination in
tax structures based on gender. So what if the
discrimination favoured them. Said Ruchika Desai: “The
Budget should do away with different tax brackets for men
and women. There should be one slab as men are working as
hard as women professionals.” Auto drivers who are
always ready to offer their opinion on any subject were
forthright about the budget as well.
“We are okay with the current taxation rates on auto
spare parts, oil and CNG. Please do not increase the level
and let it be status-quo. Nahi tho danda maar denge. Abhi
tho 1 lakh car bhi aa gaya hain (business will be hit, now
that the Rs 1-lakh car is coming),” said Vinod Shirke
& Uddav Thakkar, auto rickshaw drivers.
Given that the retailing thrives on increasing consumption
and is looking for themes to push off take, it was but
natural for Future Group chairman Kishore Biyani to
propose a theme for the Budget. “The Budget should look
at being more innovative, and the key focus should be at
increasing consumption. As a country, we have arrived, and
the next level has to be consumption-led growth, which
would be via value-added products and services.
” Harsh Mariwala, chairman & MD of Marico
Industries, however, opined that Budget over time has lost
its sheen and should be treated just like any other
policy. “Initially, during the Manmohan Singh regime,
and a little after, the Budget stood for stages of
reforms. Now, we have reached a phase of stability. The
government needn’t wait for the Budget to implement
reforms,” said Mariwala. “Indirect taxation of goods
and services should be integrated into the Goods &
Services Tax (GST). Service tax on rental property be
rationalised as it is hurting the retail sector and in
turn, the FMCG industry”.
If one thought that advertising honchos were only
concerned about the next best creative work coming out
from their respective agency, think again. Arvind Sharma,
chairman & CEO of Leo Burnett, applauded the FM’s
effort in managing the economy, but said further
consistent efforts were needed. “Today if you see, most
money that is allocated for education goes either into
building buildings or appointing permanent teachers.
There should be newer schooling models and more
private-public partnership in education,” he said.
Creativity was also at display as the team from JWT had
created a huge placard of their wish list. JWT India CEO
Colvyn Harris said there was a new emerging middle class
escaping the tax net and therefore, measures were needed
to include this segment. “The people who evade tax
should be dealt with strongly, the regulatory authorities
need to ensure that whoever is due to pay tax doesn’t
evade taxation,” said Mr Harris.
The pharma industry too had its set of demands. Said
Nicholas Piramal Enterprises chairman Ajay Piramal: “It
is also strongly recommended that a limited company should
also get the tax break as is applicable to an
association.” Section 80 (1B) exempted 100% of
scientific research companies for a period of 10 years.
This benefit came to an end on March 31, 2007. Now only
associations formed to carry out scientific research can
benefit from this exemption”.
The Bull at Dalal Street had Budgee for company and Budgee
ensured it added to the positive run at the bourse after
the crash. Traders leaving BSE flocked to Budgee to put
forth their views to the FM. The road side eateries near
Dalal Street, all did brisk business even two hours after
the markets closed, thanks to Budgee.
“India is among the top 15 countries with a higher share
in trading costs. The average cost of executing a trade in
Indian market is pegged at around 51 bps,” said Shrikant
Bodhra, a dealer from a brokerage firm. “As far as India
goes, average commission (or brokerage) rounds off to
around 30 bps, considered very high when compared with
emerging markets like China, Brazil, Korea and Russia. The
government should do something to reduce stock transaction
cost,” he said.
Rashesh Shah, MD, Edelweiss Capital, wanted some cuts in
indirect taxes. “The government should work out ways, by
which retail investors would be able to invest in
infrastructure assets. The budget should target the middle
class and urban lower class,” he said.
Source
: Economic Times - Gurgaon, Haryana, India, dated
06/02/2008
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