This refers to A K Bhattacharya's column "Leaving a mark on the Budget" (Raisina Hill, February 9). The author has suggested scrapping the secrecy around tax rates and exempting the tax department from revenue collection targets. The argument advanced in favour of doing away with the veil of secrecy is that once the proposed tax rates are put in public domain as part of a consultation paper, the finance minister will have the benefit of public responses that can be factored in while formulating the rates and presenting the Budget. I think, even in the current system, the Budget 'proposals' announced on the Budget day are in any case debated among various stakeholders and finally discussed threadbare in both Houses of Parliament and then put to vote. As a matter of established practice, a finance minister does take into account the public responses to various proposals and modify the original ones wherever he finds them acceptable. There is, therefore, no need for any change. Lobbying is not wrong, as long as the policy decisions are not influenced by any extraneous considerations.
As far as the revenue targets fixed for the tax department is concerned, the initial Budget estimates for revenue collection are subject to periodical revisions by the finance ministry, depending on the actual tax-collection trend and the revised estimates communicated to the tax authorities in the field. This also, therefore, does not call for a change. This is not to suggest that some overenthusiastic revenue officials do not resort to coercive measures not sanctioned by the law.
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number
As far as the revenue targets fixed for the tax department is concerned, the initial Budget estimates for revenue collection are subject to periodical revisions by the finance ministry, depending on the actual tax-collection trend and the revised estimates communicated to the tax authorities in the field. This also, therefore, does not call for a change. This is not to suggest that some overenthusiastic revenue officials do not resort to coercive measures not sanctioned by the law.
S K Choudhury Bengaluru
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number