Kudos for resisting the populist urge, Mr FM
By By Vallabh Bhansali | 01 Jan 1900
At
a time when the political winds had become difficult
for the FM, he has held his ground and not yielded by
bringing in populist measures.
He has continued with low-key reforms such as phasing
out central sales tax, permitting short selling and
stock lending. Important decisions have been buying
out State Bank of India''s stake from Reserve Bank of
India at 20-per cent premium to market price and continuing
with textile upgradation fund.
These have of course not been adequate considering that
this was the last budget where reform measures could
have been bought in and that damage to sentiment of
growth has been greater as actually stock prices have
fallen disproportionately than the dent in fundamentals.
The actual impact of tax measures such as increase in excise duty on cement or taxing IT companies is going to be only marginal. Cement companies make handsome profits and in all likelihood will lose from the burden. And IT companies already pay 8 per cent to 14 per cent local and foreign income tax and hit to the bottom line will therefore not be more than 3 per cent to 5 per cent depending on how much credit they will get for the taxes paid abroad.
Dividend
distribution tax increase will hurt but not kill. If
things stabilize next year you could see roll back and
also drop in tax surcharge.
But
look at the upsides. The country''s fiscal position has
consolidated and we can look forward to controlled fiscal
deficits at the centre and the state. The markets and
the economy do not need much and we should learn to
go ahead as big boys that we are.
Latest articles
Featured articles
The remarkable Ratan Tata
By Kiron Kasbekar | 23 Oct 2024
One newspaper report of Ratan Tata’s passing away showed an old photo of him climbing into the cockpit of a Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter.
Lighter than air, yet very, very powerful
By Kiron Kasbekar | 03 Jan 2024
In March 2013 Chinese scientists pulled off a remarkable feat. They created the world’s lightest aerogel. Tipping the scales at a mere 0.16 milligrams per cubic centimeter – that’s a sixth of the weight of air!
COP28 explained: A closer look at COP28's climate change solutions
By Aniket Gupta | 27 Dec 2023
The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP28, took place from 30th November 2023, to 13th December 2023, at Expo City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
What is a Ponzi scheme?
By Aniket Gupta | 06 Dec 2023
Ponzi schemes have long captivated the public imagination, drawing unsuspecting investors into a web of illusion and deception.
The Rise and Rise of HDFC Bank
03 Jul 2023
HDFC, which surged ahead of global majors like HSBC Holdings Plc and Citigroup Inc and left Indian peers like State Bank of India and ICICI Bank in market capitalisation, now ranks fourth largest among the world’s most valuable banks, after JPMorgan Chase & Co, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd and Bank of America Corp
India’s Millet Revolution To Enrich Global Food Basket
02 Apr 2023
Millets, a healthier and cheaper substitute to wheat and rice, are indigenous to many parts of the world, especially in the semiarid tropics of Asia and Africa, and offers a big scope for expanding production and consumption in the foodgrain deficient African continent
Market predator Hindenburg preys on Adani stock
06 Mar 2023
Almost a month after the damning report of short-seller Hindenburg Research on the Adani Group that claimed that the seven stocks within the group were about 85 per cent overvalued, one of the group's stocks, Adani Total Gas, closed at Rs835 on the BSE, down nearly 79 per cent from its 24 January level, almost close to reaching that valuation