WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THE BUDGET?
There is nothing really good about this budget. One will have to read the fine print to see what the Direct Tax implications are.
WHAT IS THE WORST THING ABOUT THE BUDGET? It’s disappointing. There is nothing positive in it for the luxury sector. There is status quo on the foreign direct investment (FDI) situation. Maybe they will track it after the budget. Retail is a very important sector which has not been addressed. The increase in service tax is also a dampener.
DO YOU THINK THE BUDGET WILL REVIVE THE ECONOMY? OR IS IT NOT BOLD ENOUGH? Investment is slowing down. So is manufacturing. We needed major incentives to bring in investors. We need to make the environment far better for them. Investment is pouring into Brazil, South America, China, etc.
We are missing an opportunity here. I am sure a lot of investors would be disappointed.
IF YOU WERE THE FINANCE MINISTER, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE WITH THE BUDGET?
I would have looked at reducing corporate tax to attract investment. The personal tax slab too should have gone up to encourage more people to pay taxes. I would have also looked at FDI which would have been a game-changer for multi-brand and single-brand retail.
Tikka Shatrujit Singh,
Chief Representative in Asia for Louis Vuitton
