Dear Members,
Come February and anxiety builds up. Every section of the Society talks about the Budget, and is waiting for the Budget with lot of expectations.
I would like you all to ponder over the following Questions, which I often pose before myself and struggle to find answers to it.
• Why do we show so much eagerness and concern for the Budget to be presented ?
• Has the Budget not become an non-event ? If I rightly recollect, in 2006-2007, our present Finance Minister, who was Finance Minister during that period, expressed that he wants the Budget to be an non-event.
• Whether the ritual of presenting the Finance Bill is a Farce ?
I know that our’s is a country of rituals, but it’s time to end the Budget Speech tradition. It serves no purpose. Over the years, it’s been reduced to merely presenting more of a general economic survey and policy statements. The Finance Minister presents the Budget outlining key estimates and proposals. Many times, the gap between the Finance Minister’s speech on the floor of the House and what comes out in fine print may render this ritual to be nothing but a farce.
And the reason why I think in that direction, is based on some of the recent announcements which are made prior to the Budget, and I don’t see any reasons or logic to announce it prior to the Budget, and that they can’t wait till the Budget:
• Deferrment of implementation of GAAR until 2016 announced in mid January.
• Announcement of raising the Import Tariffs on Yellow metal and Duties on Gold ore in the last week of January.
• Across-the-board increase in passenger train fares, in January – a move that will add about 66 billion rupees to the railway revenue. The timing of the increase did raise questions, as it comes less than two months before the railway budget. As you are aware that the Revisions in train fares are usually announced in the rail budget and are implemented from April 1, when India’s fiscal year starts. But the early announcement was with the objective to limit opposition protests since Parliament was not in session.
If that’s what it is, perhaps it’s time to do away with the tradition altogether.
Today, everyone knows that the Tax laws are bad, but administration is worse. It is pitiable that the Economic reforms to strengthen the basis of our economy are being consistently ignored. The Government’s attitude to disrespect the judiciary is becoming a new trend. Furthermore, the Government is under constant pressure or is forced to withdraw or water down it’s Budget proposals, and even policies which are in the interest of the country. Sometimes, it struggles to implement it’s own proposals under the pretext of a review.
Considering the present situation, it’s high time that the following issues which need to be tackled and implemented, be taken up with the Government :
• Why is there a secrecy around the Budget making process?
• Why the pre-budget and post-budget memorandums sent by professional organisations in the interest of the Tax paying public at large for rationalisation, simplifications and reducing hardship are not being deliberated or debated with representatives of such bodies? As there is no inclination for the same, there is a feeling expressed that the process of memorandum making is becoming somewhat of a futile exercise.
• Why is there no machinery to consider proposals on a continuous basis and review the provisions regularly and periodically?
• Why the system is not equipped to make the best use of proposals received from various professional bodies in their right perspective?
• Why can’t we unite to seek our right for accountability in Government Departments?
Let’s hope a day will come where there would be an end to such farce, and a time will come where the Government in power has the courage to share with the country, from the heart, what it truly feels, their true, unedited understanding of the state of the nation and the party’s unexpurgated vision for the country.
Let’s hope that we see stable tax rates, a commitment to fiscal discipline and more reforms focusing on the economic revival in the forthcoming Budget. And await the answer to speculation going around that this would be an ‘Election Budget’ laden with sops and handouts.
With Warm Regards,
Yours truly,
Deepak R. Shah
