Budget Debate Over - 25% Corporate Tax was UPA Idea - FM
THE Lok Sabha concluded yesterday the debate on Budget 2015. 61 Members have spoken and 101Members have laid written speeches. In his reply the FM observed that he rarely recollects a debate where 162 Members, cutting across the Party lines, have spoken on a subject. The fact that the Indian Parliament should have such a large number of people wanting to speak on the Budget, itself is indicative of the fact that the economy now occupies the centre stage of the political agenda.
The FM has not announced any fresh measures, concessions or corrections.
Excerpts from his speech:
So, for those who have adopted obstructionism as a strategy or obstructionism as an ideology, you prevent economic decision making, you prevent reform, you prevent change, you prevent investment, you prevent jobs, you prevent revenue. You prevent infrastructure and you perpetuate India as a poor nation. That is not a course, which we are going to follow. That is not a roadmap on which we are going to ply.
So the first step is that we must have more money from within and outside coming into this country. We must ease the doing of business. You cannot have an investor saying, I will invest in India, but it takes him five years to get 43 permissions in order to do his business.
We are competing for investment, not only foreign investment but Indian investment also. Indians are preferring to set up their industries in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and China.
I have seen every country's corporate tax. The ASEAN region average has come down to 21.9 per cent. Now, I will give you the average and the data of all the countries are before me. The Global average is 23.64 per cent. Asian region is 21.91 per cent and Europe is 19.68 per cent.
So, the international investor will say: "I have a 10 per cent advantage in going to this country. I will go there." So, India will dry up. Now, a very sensible move was mooted by a Government that let us bring it down to 25 per cent. I said: "We make it 25 per cent" and you said: "You are pro-corporate." I must confess that this is not my original idea. I have borrowed this idea from the UPA Government. The UPA Government drafted and brought out the Direct Tax Code. The Direct Tax Code was drafted during Mr. Chidambaram's period. In 2009, the present Rashtrapatiji as Finance Minister put it in the House and Mr. Chidambaram tried his best so that the Direct Tax Code can become a law.
Who will come to India if I charge 34 per cent? So, the UPA Government started a good move. From this Direct Tax Code, I borrowed this idea. When I borrowed this idea, immediately the whole of the Congress Party stands up and says: "You are pro-corporate."
A starved Government and a starved nation will not have that capacity. Therefore, the UPA took a stand and I am requesting you with folded hands, let politics of obstructionism not be carried to an extent that the UPA now puts itself in a situation that it says: "I oppose every word of the Direct Tax Code that I had promised."
What have I done with regard to other taxes? I abolished the wealth tax. The wealth tax was giving us Rs.900crore, Rs.1,000crore. Everybody was filing returns. It was a high effort but low yield. I said: "Instead of this, two per cent surcharge on the super rich." So, where I was getting Rs.1,000crore, from this two per cent surcharge I will get Rs.9,000crore. It is a simplified tax procedure. Why should anybody have an objection to this?
To support ‘Make in India', I said: "Inverted tax structures must go."
The world is considering India as a bright spot in the global economy. It is a chance where we must fully exploit this possibility and enable this country to grow.