Roll back, Singh style

Jaswant Singh was only performing the job expected of him when he went about trying to assuage the BJP’s traditional vote base, the mid...

Jaswant Singh was only performing the job expected of him when he went about trying to assuage the BJP’s traditional vote base, the middle class, whose sentiments were presumably ‘hurt’ by Yashwant Sinha’s 2002 budget.

But apart from awarding giveaways to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore which would have otherwise come into the government’s kitty, Singh’s rebates and concessions do not even go very far in ‘putting money in the housewife’s purse’, as he had earlier said he wished to do. The biggest sop he has given, really, is to hike the tax exemptions under Section 80L (that covers interest income) from Rs 12,000 in Yashwant Sinha’s budget, to Rs 15,000 now.

There have also been minor changes in tax deduction at source clauses. The main plank of Sinha’s budget, however, remains unchanged — that of a 5 per cent surcharge, and a very sharp reduction in tax incentives given for savings such as those in NSCs and provident funds, the mainstay of middle class India’s savings.

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The other measures announced by Singh are more than welcome. One of these, for instance, applies to simplifying cumbersome tax laws and procedures — the very first day he took charge, Singh had told the revenue department that he wasn’t interested so much in their tax projections, as he was in their plans to ensure taxpayers got their refunds on their very first visit to the tax office.

The plan to set up a Serious Frauds Office is also more than welcome, though how useful it will be to set it up within the Department of Company Affairs is a moot point, considering the same DCA has proved unequal to the task of detecting such frauds in the past.

It is, of course, attention to such detail that will determine whether replacing Sinha with Singh was worth it. For, like Singh, Sinha too made grandiose promises, few of which actually got translated into action.

Remember the one about how it would be easier for firms to shut shop? It was made two year ago, but is still to be implemented. But, to be fair, we would have to suspend our judgement of Singh on these parameters until he presents his first budget in February.

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