The three things that are most important and must be given priority in the 2020 budget are Infrastructure, Real Estate and Personal Income Tax.
By Geoffrey Nagpal
Better infrastructure is desperately needed all over India. It is the cure for unemployment, improving ease of doing business and spending money in ways that improve productivity, and encouraging external investments in India. There is no single activity which can cure so many ills.
The Real Estate industry in this country is at an all-time low. This segment also touches a very important part of everyone’s life as improvement in living standards and owning homes are aspirations of all. The ripple effect of the real estate industry will be felt in many segments like construction material, furniture, revenue to government in terms of stamp duty, and freeing up of finances which are locked up in the absence of turnover.
The recent reduction in corporate tax was very much welcomed. This should be matched by similar rates in individual income tax so that there are no anomalies.
I also think that the reforms needed in GST should be executed at the very earliest. There exists the will to sort these issues out, but the execution is too slow.
The author is a managing director at Ebco. The views are his own.
