Corporate India has asked Finance Minister Arun Jaitely to give out statements to help temper the expectations from the new government in line with the reality.
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Sidharth Birla reasoned: “The government needs to temper expectations from it on the economy in line with the ground reality because even the best actions and intentions will need 16-24 months to show results. The government must calibrate the expectation by constantly giving statements… This is because there is huge euphoria, especially in the stock markets, and if the balloon bursts it will be bad for the economy.”
The who’s who of India Inc, on Friday, met Mr. Jaitley for a pre-budget consultation that lasted for over two-hours. During the meeting the captains of industry listed out a host of demands, including making tax regime simpler.
Confederation of Indian Industry President Ajay S. Shriram, who is also Chairman and Senior Managing Director of DCM Shriram, said, “No one (in the industry) is grudging to pay taxes, including the surcharge former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had introduced on companies with incomes of Rs.10 crore plus, provided there are no headaches of dealing with the tax administration.”
According to Mr. Birla, the harassment comes when the Finance Minister sets unreal targets for tax collectors.