By IANS
New Delhi : Corporate taxes will contribute a whopping 24 percent of the government’s annual budget of Rs.750,884 crore (over Rs.7.5 trillion) for 2008-09 that Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented in the Lok Sabha Friday.
There is a remarkable increase in the plan expenditure to create assets. In the next fiscal, the government will spend Rs.243,386 crore under the plan head against the revised Rs.207,524 crore in 2007-08.
Finance Minister Chidambaram in his budget speech said that the fiscal position of the country had tremendously improved.
“The revenue deficit for the current year will be 1.4 percent against the budget estimate of 1.5 percent, and the fiscal deficit will be 3.1 percent against the budget estimate of 3.3 percent.”
As much as 43 percent contributions to the state coffer come from income, excise and customs taxes, accounting respectively for 15, 13 and 15 percent. Service and other taxes will contribute seven percent.
All taxes together account for 74 percent of the country’s total budget, with the rest coming from borrowings, non-tax, non-debt capital and other liabilities. The non-tax revenues make only 10 percent of the total budget amount.
The states’ share of taxes and duties claim 19 percent of the budget funds, followed by defence that gets 11 percent of the total funds.
In 2008-09, the government intends to receive Rs.602,935 crore from the taxes, while the capital receipts would generate Rs.147,949 crore compared to the revised Rs.184,275 in 2007-08.
Compared to the current fiscal year, there is a slight increase in non-plan expenditure in the next fiscal, estimated to be Rs.507,498 crore. It was Rs.501,849 crore in 2007-08. The non-plan expenditures take care of maintenance and other in-built expenses involving salaries and other costs.
Chidambaram said that revenue deficit in 2008-09 is estimated to be one percent of the gross domestic product, while the fiscal deficit of 2.5 percent at Rs.133,287 crore.
Referring to the way ahead, Chidambaram said that there was a need to bring the liabilities into the country’s fiscal accounting.
“I intend to request the 13th Finance Commission to revisit the roadmap for fiscal adjustment and suggest a suitably revised roadmap,” Chidamabaram said.