Wishlist: What Corporate India wants from Budget 2013

Industry bodies Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industries tell Firstpost what their wishlist for the budget is.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Budget wishlist:

1. Economy on revenue expenditure by Government

2. Retention and formation of Investible Capital essential for corporates and individuals

3. Stable tax regime critical for sustaining capital inflows and investments

4. Urgent need to widen tax base to include significant elements of income hitherto excluded, and avoid any extra burden on existing direct taxpayers

5. Urgently attend to tax dispute resolution process/mechanism to unlock large amounts of revenue held up as disputes

6. Definitive Road map for GST

7. Need to attend to inverted customs duty structure for intermediate/finished products made in India; ultimately need to prevent “flight of manufacture”, and curtail “subsidies” on imports.

8. Disinvestment program to garner larger resources as current valuations could be reasonably attractive

9. Definitive Road Map for enhanced agricultural production/productivity, without which supply side issues causing high inflation will not go away 10.

Promote financial savings over non productive investments

[caption id=“attachment_642649” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Urgent need to widen tax base to include significant elements of income hitherto excluded, and avoid any extra burden on existing direct taxpayers. Reuters[/caption]

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Budget 2013 wishlist

POLICY DIRECTION:

1. The budget 2013-14 should primarily focus on “reviving growth”

2. Fiscal deficit should be reduced to around 4.5% of GDP next year

3. Facilitate quick time-bound clearance of 50 mega projects with the intervention of the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI)

4. The interest rate subvention of 2% on export should be extended to all products and sectors 5. Promote low cost housing by extending the interest subvention scheme of 1% for loans for the cost of housing up to Rs 35 lakh

6. Surplus land of PSUs should be monetised

7. PSUs should be encouraged to invest their cash surplus

8. Suggestions of the Kelkar Committee on fiscal consolidation should be implemented

9. Consolidate overlapping parts of central schemes

10. The second phase of JNNURM should be initiated

11. Of around Rs 4 lakh crore that is stuck in taxation disputes, attempt should be made to clear Rs 50,000 crore next fiscal

12. Target raising at least Rs 50,000 crore by way of disinvestment next year

13. Rationalize Fertilizer subsidy by putting a quantitative restriction on purchase of subsidized fertilizer

14. Issue guidelines for inclusion of health and education as infrastructure sub-sectors

DIRECT TAXES:

1. Exempt SEZ and Infrastructure companies from payment of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT)

2. Provide 25% accelerated depreciation for investments in plant & machinery for 3- 5 years.

3. Abolish Surcharge and Education Cess on Corporate assessees

4. Enhance exemption limit on individual income taxes and link it to inflation index

5. Overseas dividend from foreign subsidiaries of Indian companies to be exempted from tax 6. Provide 250% weighted tax deduction on expenditure incurred on “going green” initiatives.

7. Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT) should not be reintroduced

8. Avoid levying new taxes like ‘Super Rich’ and ‘Inheritance’ taxes

9. Provide a weighted deduction of 150% of the expenses incurred by companies on CSR activities defined in the Companies Bill

10. Tax holiday to power sector u/s 80IA should be extended till 2018

11. Align Indian Transfer pricing regulations with OECD guidelines

12. Increase the limit for applicability of domestic TP provisions to cases where the aggregate value of transactions exceeds Rs 100 crore so as to keep the focus on large taxpayers

13. The long term capital gain in respect of equity shares in a company or units of equity-oriented funds on which STT has been paid should not be part of book profit for the levy of MAT

14. Taskforce may be constituted to lay down a roadmap for the convergence of the tax rules with IFRS based accounts

15. MAT credit carry forward or set-off should be extended for a period of up to 20 years

16. Accord infrastructure status to the Integrated township development

17. Restore Section 10(23G), which, by exempting interest income of financial institutions received from the Rupee term loan to the companies eligible for claiming deduction under section 80IA(4), will greatly help in countering the current high interest rate environment

INDIRECT TAXES:

1. Continue with 10% peak rate of customs duty

2. Maintain 12% general rate of excise duty

3. Continue with 12% rate of service tax