With most of their representations being met broadly by the chief minister’s vision 2023 document, Tamil Nadu corporates await the finer details of its implementation in the ensuing state budget.
Power is the major grouse of most corporates and streamlining the supply with need based energy management system with prudent subsidies tops the wish list in their agenda.
However, among their other expectations are reforms in tax collection, better public expenditure management, prudent financial management and reforms in public enterprises coupled with private sector participation.
Privatisation of non-major ports, issuance of municipal and state bonds to augment revenue, additional ‘green tax’ for polluting industries, outsourcing tax collection operations, switching over to goods and services tax (GST), promoting public private partnership in tourism infrastructure top the fine print of pre-budget memorandum of most industry bodies in the state.
Policy decisions regarding issues related to land acquisition and availability of a land bank, besides other pro-industry policies, would influence the relative pace of industrialisation and economic growth of the state over the medium term, feels SICCI. This would largely determine the economic prospects, employment creation, income levels and tax revenues, it adds.
During last budget, the state announced its intention to come out with a new land acquisition policy by involving land pooling techniques to create adequate land banks for industrial parks and infrastructure needs.
Another reprieve that most corporates are hoping for is in the context of stamp duty payment which was recently hiked without fixing the upper limit. Fixing a cap on the maximum amount to be charged by the brokers will enable them to sustain in the market and help in the country’s economic prosperity, opine traders.