Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday abolished the wealth tax on super-rich with an income of Rs 1 crore or more per year and replaced it with a surcharge of 2%. He also proposed to cut corporate tax from 30 % to 25% over next the next four years.
Bombaystock exchange Sensex and Nifty rose nearly 1%, recovering from earlier falls after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed to cut the corporate tax rate over the next four years and delayed the implementation of planned General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) by two years.
Finance Minister ArunJaitley presented a Union Budget aimed at high growth, saying the pace of cutting the fiscal deficit would slow as he seeks to boost investment and ensure that ordinary people benefit.
Jaitley, delivering his first full-year budget since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's landslide election victory last May, said growth would accelerate to between 8-8.5% in the fiscal year starting in April. Arun Jaitley said he would stand by the fiscal deficit target for the 2014-15 fiscal year, which ends March 31, of 4.1% of gross domestic product.But he pushed back by a year his medium-term goal of cutting the deficit to 3% of gross domestic product. In 2015-16 the deficit will be 3.9% of GDP, up from the 3.6% target inherited from the last government.Jaitley said it was time for a "quantum leap" on reforms and that incremental change "is not going to take us anywhere", building on expectations that the 2015-16 budget would deliver big-bang reforms. Minister Arun jaitly said the government would seek to boost the efficiency of the MNREGA scheme. “Rs 34,699 crore is allocated for MNREGA scheme,” he said. Minister ArunJaitley earlier said the state of the country's economy was better placed today with its credibility re-established by a series of measures taken by his government. "I am presenting the union budget in an economic environment which is far more positive than in the recent past. While major economies of the world face difficulties, India is poised for higher growth trajectory," Jaitley said as he started his budget speech in the Lok Sabha. "The real GDP growth is estimated at 7.5% for this fiscal, making India the fastest-growing large economy of the world," said Jaitley, watched keenly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seated next to him. "We inherited a sentiment of doom and gloom and have come a long way by proper actions," said the finance minister, adding: "Our objective is to improve quality of life and to pass benefits to common man."
