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Tax super rich, economists tell Chidambaram

Higher tax rates for the super rich, introduction of inheritance tax, certainty in tax laws and early resolution of tax disputes were among the slew of suggestions made by eminent economists who met finance minister P Chidambaram on Monday for a pre-Budget discussion.

Higher tax rates for the super rich, introduction of inheritance tax, certainty in tax laws and early resolution of tax disputes were among the slew of suggestions made by eminent economists who met finance minister P Chidambaram on Monday for a pre-Budget discussion.

Another proposal that came up was that an Asset Management Office (AMC) be set up to manage government land in various metros, tier II and III cities.

Another suggestion was to give incentives to boost small savings schemes as savings under these schemes have gone down over the years.

The economists also called for reduction of the interest rate and doubling of agriculture credit.

Besides, they proposed to put BASEL III reforms on hold for a year keeping in view the current economic situation. They also favoured rationalisation of centrally sponsored schemes and steps to reduce inflation down to the level of 4-5 %.

The economists wanted higher investment in health and education sectors, higher capital expenditure on agriculture.

They also said storage capacity for foodgrains should be increased.

Besides, they wanted the government to take more steps to promote renewable energy. They also suggested that fees for higher studies in universities and professional institutions should be increased and the extra funds should be diverted for primary and secondary education for poor and weaker sections of the society.

Chidambaram said though the economic and political developments in the eurozone area and the US had its impact on the world economy, including India, a slew of reform measures taken by the government had a positive impact on the market sentiments.

He said direct tax collections are satisfactory while indirect taxes, including excise duty are falling short of expectations.

The finance minister said the difficult phase is over and now the focus would be on achieving higher growth during the year.

The economists who participated in the meeting included Surjit Bhalla of the OXUS Research and Investments, Omkar Goswami of CERG Advisory, Nitin Desai, Rajiv Kumar, Pulin Nayak, Delhi School of Economics, Bharat Ramaswamy, ISI Delhi and Ajit Ranade, Aditya Birla Group. Some of the economists wanted the discussion to be held in October from next year onwards, before the Budget-making process starts.

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First published on: 08-01-2013 at 01:38 IST
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