The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Tiruchi News : `A budget with a human face'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 17, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi

`A budget with a human face'

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUCHI, JULY 16 . The Union Budget presented by the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, is a "progressive, forward looking and result-oriented" budget with a human face, said V. Murali, Central Council Member, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, New Delhi.

Within a short time and despite many constraints as well as pulls and pressures, the Finance Minister had done full justice in presenting a progressive budget which would benefit many sections of the society, he said while speaking on `Union Budget-2004', organised by the Tiruchi branch of the Southern India Regional Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India here.

The budget was in line with the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government with a focus on crucial areas such as agriculture, education, etc. Though the Finance Minister had to do a tight-rope walking while crafting the budget, he had done it in an intelligent manner, Mr. Murali observed.

He said there were many welcome features in the budget such as enhancement of farm credit flow and investment in the agriculture sector. Also a special thrust has been given to primary education. The two per cent education cess on all taxes including income tax to fetch Rs. 5,000 crores and using the funds for expanding primary education in the country was another pointer to the human face of the budget, he observed.

No income tax for persons with a taxable income of Rs. one lakh was one more aspect of the budget that would go well with the masses. The budget had addressed the welfare of the senior of the citizens with the government proposing a new scheme for them offering an interest rate of nine per cent per annum. He said the proposal to tax gifts obtained from unrelated persons above the threshold of Rs. 25,000 was a step aimed to check money laundering.

The hike in allocation for the defence sector was essential since the country could not compromise on security. The new excise package for the textile sector and dropping of 85 items from the list reserved for the small scale sector are the other key aspects of the budget, Mr. Murali said.

He said overall the budget was "result oriented", though there were issues such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which were politically sensitive. In the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime, there were no boundaries where the Indian products had to compete with international products amidst stiff competition.

There was a need for building up infrastructure, extensive communication system and ensure uninterrupted power supply for our industrialists, which would help in attaining further growth, he added.

Presiding over the meeting, the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Tiruchi, S.M. Gadgil said it was necessary to pay taxes. There was a perception among people that paying tax per se was a burden. The tax was meant for the right cause and development of society. He welcomed suggestions from the public for improving the tax administration.

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