India Inc wants a single corporate tax rate of 15% over three years

According to Confederation of Indian (CII) the current double rate of taxation creates “inequality”.

All corporate tax rates in the country should be converged to 15 per cent over three years from 1 April 2023 and do away with all exemptions and incentives, CII president Vikram Kirloskar suggested to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman at a pre-Budget meeting on Thursday.

The CII came up with 10 points to improve ease of doing business, strengthen the role of the State, enhance export competitiveness, and revive private investment and growth.

These include decriminalising various laws and procedures as is being done for the Companies Act, stating that any such move would address the trust deficit.

CII also made a case for extending the reduced corporate tax rate of 22 per cent to limited liability partnerships and partnership firms.

FICCI President Sandip Somany said the industry suggested a reduction in income tax for those who earn less than ?20 lakh in a year so that there are more disposable funds in the hands of consumers and the economy benefits.

Assocham President Balkrishna Goenka said that States would have to play an important role in ‘ease of doing business’ and to ensure that last-mile issues are resolved.

Industrialists suggested several ways to boost the rural economy, especially ways to increase consumption. Other suggestions included:

·        Ideas to improve IBC in relation to NCLTs and banks; 

·        Faster mergers, acquisitions and demergers processes, ways to reduce time for FDI approval; 

·        Structural changes in laws for effective and stable business environment;

·        Time-bound decisions for augmenting Ease of Doing Business both at central and state levels; 

·        New investment of capital for building infrastructure; 

·        CAPEX for infrastructure to boost economy; 

·        Preventing predatory pricing and dumping in India; 

·        Facilitating R&D in India to boost Make in India; 

·        Harnessing public-private partnership (PPP) by leveraging social funding through a new programme; and

·        Ensuring liquidity for NBFCs with focus on rural economy and ways to increase consumption in economy.

Leading industrialists who participated in the pre-budget meeting included Sunil Bhrati Mittal, BVN Rao, Vipin Sondhi, Sanjiv Goenka, Jatin Dalal, Manoj Chugh, Ravi Raheja,  Acharya Balkrishan, Vikram Kirloskar, Sandip Somany, Balkrishan Goenka, among others.