NEW DELHI: CPI leader A.B. Bardhan on Saturday questioned Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's statement hinting at moderating tax rates, especially the levy on corporates.

In an interaction with the Forum of Financial Writers here, Mr Bardhan hit out at the Finance Minister for trying to build up a case for a cut in taxes on corporates in the wake of higher revenue collections. Instead, the Government, he said, should allocate more funds for agriculture and the social sectors.

"It was really strange that here is a Finance Minister, who wants to pass on the benefit of higher revenue collection to corporates rather than spending more on education and health to alleviate poverty," Mr Bardhan said.

Reeling out NSSO (National Sample Survey Organisation) figures, Mr Bardhan noted that even while achieving an average growth of over six per cent for over a decade up to 2004, the poverty level has come down by a mere 0.74 per cent.

Finding fault with the employment programme, Mr Bardhan noted that even the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was not being implemented properly. Pension funds

Speaking against the Bill on pension funds, Mr Bardhan said that the Left parties did not want pension funds in the hands of private or even public sector fund managers, especially in the light of the UTI fiasco (US 64) a few years ago. "The money should remain with the Government and should be put in a dedicated infrastructure fund with an assured return of say, nine per cent or so," he said.

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