Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the country required to take lessons from Euro-zone crisis and a prudent fiscal management was the need of the hour.
“We need to learn lessons from the Euro-zone crisis where sovereign fiscal deficits of some have surpassed 100 per cent of GDP and for this a prudent fiscal deficit management should be drawn,” Mr. Mukherjee said after inaugurating the new administrative building of the income tax department here.
“We cannot allow our fiscal deficit to go beyond a certain limit. We need to manage our receipts and payments so that our fiscal deficits, sovereign borrowings and debts are within manageable limits,” he said.
The budgeted fiscal deficit target for the year was 4.6 per cent but since the government’s extra borrowing on account of subsidies and resources from disinvestment was not coming through, the target was under pressure, he said.
Mr. Mukherjee said government was putting efforts to mop up more revenue by way of better service to tax payers, making collection systems more rule based and transparent for better compliance.
He also said timely refund would increase confidence among tax payers and help ensure compliance.
“This year refunds of Rs. 73,000 crore have so far been made,” the finance minister said.
Till April-September 2011 the refund was 135 per cent compared to that of the corresponding period last year, he said.
