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In its
two-page note to the Vijay Kelkar-chaired TFC — set up
last November to recommend how Central taxes will be
shared with states over the next five years — finance
minister Pranab Mukherjee has stuck to his promise of
fiscal consolidation as announced in this year’s Budget.
According
to government officials, India’s ‘exit strategy’ will
begin in the right earnest in 2010-11. In its note, the
finance ministry has said it expects tax buoyancy to be
restored in the fourth quarter of 2009-10. But they
added today that advance tax collections in September
have revived their hopes of an early recovery, despite
drought-like conditions.
Between
September 2008 and the presentation of the regular
Budget on July 6, 2009, the government has announced
three stimulus packages that saw excise rates being
reduced to 8 per cent from 14 per cent, cut in service
tax rate to 10 per cent from 12 per cent besides
generous increase in expenditure on the United
Progressive Alliance government’s flagship programmes.
Source
:
Indian Express, India, dated 17/09/2009
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