Withdrawal of fringe benefit tax (FBT) in the forthcoming Budget.
The FBT should be modified and its compliance be made easier
Industry also sought a reduction in Customs duty to the Asean levels of 8-10 per cent.
The government should re-visit its decision to reduce depreciation rates and restore the earlier rate of 25 per cent.
Sectors which focus on research, particularly the pharmaceutical sector, said, the government should increase the weighted deduction allowed under the Income Tax Act from 150 per cent to 200 per cent.
The pharma sector also said the increased weighted deduction should be allowed for 10 years up to 2017. The current concession expires in March 2007.
The pharma sector and Nasscom also demanded that disbursements from the National Technology Fund should be made annual and be extended to cover biotechnology and all kinds of research. A demand was made to increase the scope of research and development to include clinical trials and regulatory filing by pharma companies.
Another demand was to grant tax breaks on investments in infrastructure.
On telecom, a participant said it was one of the most taxed sectors and needed some relief.
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President Yogi Deveshwar said a balance has to be struck between the government's revenue needs and industry's wishes. "Industry never wants taxes, but we cannot have zero tax," he said.
Last month, the Bulgarian National Assembly voted to impose an indefinite ban on shale gas exploration and extraction in Bulgaria using hydraulic fracturing or other similar technology. But new evidence have emerged that may suggest some form of covert Russian influence in the matter.
Pity the poor Eastern Europeans.
After fifty years under the domination of their massive Soviet eastern neighbour, the collapse of Communism two decades ago offered undreamed of opportunities to join both the European Union and NATO.
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Nouriel Roubini, a.k.a. “Doctor Doom”, is chairman of Roubini Global Economics and professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Roubini has been consistently cited as one of the world’s top global thinkers. This year, he was voted as the most influential economist in the world by Forbes magazine.
Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. IMF’s Chief Economist from September 2003 to January 2007. Inaugural recipient of the Fischer Black Prize.
Professor of Economics & Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals. Founder & co-President of the Millennium Promise Alliance.
Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2007. Prime Minister of the UK between 2007 and 2010. Inaugural 'Distinguished Leader in Residence' at New York University. Advisor at World Economic Forum