Azim Premji might have lost a few friends from his circle after today’s Budget. Invoking the philanthropic spirit of Wipro’s founder, P. Chidambaram has sought to make the rich pay more. The Finance Minister said the 10 per cent surcharge is temporary and will be in place only for a year but taxes once imposed are difficult to eliminate.
How many times have we seen this in the past with the various cesses and surcharges imposed ostensibly for a purpose but which continued to be levied on citizens long after the objective was met. If you are earning more than Rs.1 crore per annum and are reading this, you might want to take a break on your luxury yacht to drown the sorrow.
But wait, yachts will become pricier now as import duty has been increased. If you wish to buy that luxury car launched by a well-known international company it will cost you more too thanks again to higher import duty. Ok, you wish to settle for that SUV launched only the other day by an Indian company? Sorry, that will also cost you more from tomorrow as the excise duty has been increased.
Fancy a long bike ride? Well, if you have not bought your Harley Davidson or BMW already, you will have to shell out more now. After reading all this, you might just want to unwind with a long drag on your Bolivar … but hang on, Mr.Chidambaram wants a larger share of your cigar smoke too!
