Union Budget 2014-15: Good to begin with… The most anticipated event after a record election victory is now behind us. Mr. Arun Jaitley’s Budget speech evoked confused response with wild swings during and after the Budget presentation. There was a feeling among certain sections of the market that bolder reforms were warranted given the strength of this government’s mandate. Akin to the Railway Budget, the details were missed although the broad picture was conveyed reasonably well. Gross tax revenue projection was cut by ~Rs15,000 crore compared to interim Budget numbers - Indirect tax revenue projected to grow by 20.3% yoy and direct tax by 15.7%. While customs and service tax projections appear reasonable, excise duty growth projections at 15.4% appear steep. On the direct tax front, personal income tax projection has been substantially reduced (by Rs22,200 crore) compared to interim Budget, but still appear high. Perhaps, the government expects additional income from advance ruling settlement in case of individual tax-payer disputes. Otherwise, there is a risk of falling short of the tax revenue target set by Rs10,000 crore.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 03:41:34 +0000