The Hindu : Business : Should budget be an `event'?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 28, 2006

Business

Business

Should budget be an `event'?

Special Correspondent

Chamber calls for transparency and stability

CHENNAI: India is perhaps among the few countries where presentation of the annual budget continues to be an "event.'' Promises so far made to "demystify'' the budget have not turned into practice, according to leaders of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Industry does not grudge paying taxes but what needs to be done is to make budget making a process rather than an event, and bring about greater transparency in the exercise.

Talking to The Hindu, V. Balaraman, President of the chamber, said what was still lacking in the budget process was accountability in terms of results of government expenditure. Develop- ment expenditure necessarily had to be long-term and there ought not to be annual shifts in the pattern of the budget.

"One can understand a debate on policy but a debate on budget is an anachronism,'' said C. Ranganathan, member of the expert committee on taxation of the chamber, adding that there should be no need for "interpreting'' a budget. The more the scope for "interpretation'' of the budget, the greater it reflected lack of simplicity and transparency. A. Sankarakrishnan, Vice-President, MCCI, said there should be no scope for a "surprise element''' in a budget and its impacts should not hang by the "fine print.''

R. Raghuttama Rao, management consultant, said "debate'' should happen before the budget presentation and not after.

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