For how many more years will the Annual Budget circus continue in its current form? This is a question often asked at post-Budget seminars held across the country every year around this time.
Calling the annual Budget a circus has some justification.
Budget 2010 went far beyond most recent Budgets in that it defined an entirely new paradigm for the Indian economy, says Jamal Mecklai.
The most important part of the Budget was the Economic Survey, which, more than simply providing the conceptual underpinnings for the Budget, is the document that describes the government’s thoughts and beliefs. It tells us who our government is.
The Union Budget deserves two or maybe two-and-a-half cheers for what it has on offer for the Indian information technology (IT). More than the numbers, it is the change in attitude towards the industry, implicit in the announcements, that is significant.
From being a star export performer, important as that is, the industry is being repositioned and mainstreamed as a key enabler of better governance.
On the face of it, amnesty schemes appear to have disappeared from the country’s tax lexicon. But the Budget fine-print reveals that life could get a little easier for evaders that have tax dues of over Rs 50 lakh.
Income-tax evaders can knock at the doors of the Settlement Commission, a quasi-judicial body to settle their tax liabilities, to come clean.
The financial sector received considerable attention in Budget 2010. The most significant aspect from a broader economic context — but that also has a material bearing on the financial sector — was the government’s stance on budget deficit.
The continuing challenge, of course, is to ensure a sufficient supply of bankable infrastructure projects, something that is beyond the remit of the Budget.
It has been proposed to clarify where provision of technical services to a person in exploration industry shall not be covered by presumptive tax provisions of section 44BB and will be taxed on net or gross basis under section 44DA or 115A.
Other services in respect of exploration activities will be only covered by presumptive tax provision. [Effective Assessment Year 2011-12 Onwards]
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