Focus on lower tax rate and wider tax base

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley has assured business community that the Government is committed to facilitate trade and industry in the country so that the momentum of the growth continues to move-up.

He has also asked the captains of Indian industry to comply with the recent recommendations of the GST Council with regard to reduction of rates of various items and pass on the benefits to the consumers at large.

A delegation of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) had called on the Finance Ministry in New Delhi on 5 Mar 2019.

Jaitley said that the process of reforms in case of direct and indirect taxes will continue in order to facilitate and further expedite the process of ease of doing business in the country.

He said that Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has brought a change in the credit culture in the country and is helping the Banking Sector in making fast recoveries.

The GST is now on the track and is in process of fast settling down.

The thrust of the Government is to lower the tax rate and widen the tax base and keep the revenue collections moving-up. He said that the indirect tax collections will further increase in future.

The Finance Minister further said that India continues to be the sweet spot as far as the Foreign Direct Investment is concerned and is the fastest growing economy in the world.

The Government is committed to keep this growth momentum high and inclusive to ensure that the benefits of growth reaches to all sections of the society especially to the vulnerable and weaker sections, he assured.

FICCI President Sandip Somany requested the Finance Minister to consider lowering of the Corporate Tax Rate to 25% for all companies irrespective of their turnover.

A rationalisation of the Corporate Tax Rate would make the Indian Corporate Sector globally competitive, he added.

Among other discussions, the industry pointed out the need to have Development Finance Institutions in the country to be able to provide long term finance for growth of the industrial and infrastructure sectors.

The importance of the NBFC sector was highlighted and FICCI members drew attention to growth in the consumer durables and real estate sector, much of which was supported by the NBFC sector.

In this context it was mentioned that while the liquidity situation in the market had improved, some more steps were needed to restore the situation to complete normalcy, according to a Finance Ministry release on 5 Mar 2019. fiinews.com