Budget recommendation | Mr. Abhishek Goenka, CEO & CFO at CoWrks

Every budget comes with high expectations and when you have a new Government, and a new Finance Minister, expectations increase even more. I have always been a believer that we need to de-mystify the budget exercise. It should remain what it is meant to me, and policy initiatives and announcements should be made as needed and indeed, in today’s fast paced and changing world, continuously. Nonetheless, since that paradigm shift will take some time, here are some expectations that I have from Budget 2019.

1. The complexity of doing business remains very high. For every positive initiative taken, there has been, perhaps unintended, measures that drag down the entrepreneurial spirit. No doubt we have had a marked improvement in the rankings and that is commendable, but if there is one area that the Government really wants to focus on, it should be on simplifying business. This requires a concerted effort, a plan that includes the smallest of steps to be taken and perhaps should be done without a slogan attached to it.

2. Corporate tax rates in India continue to be high, and rather than having a system of different companies paying different rates, a uniform 25% rate to begin with is overdue.

3. The implementation of GST has by and large been a success and some of the niggles that remain will be ironed out over a period of time progressively. However, and while the Budget is not the place for GST amendments, the continuing inconsistency on not allowing credits on construction of commercial buildings for rent needed to be addressed, as it stands out as an eye-sore.

4. Infrastructure development has come to a standstill owing to the lack of confidence in the financial markets. Urgent action is needed to restore order and bring stability in the credit markets.

5. There seems to be a trend of overzealous regulation to ensure governance. This has been counterproductive everywhere in the world, and the Budget would be a good time to address some structural concerns around bankruptcy, governance, reporting and enforcement.