18 Jan, 2013 11:35 PM

On Budget 2013-2014 : Some predictions

Even if the upcoming one is UPA government’s last full budget before general elections, it may not be a populist one. We have seen the government making bold moves to bring the economy back on the tracks. The government has realized that good economics is better for votes than bad economics. It understands that populist actions may bring in claps and may not always translate into votes.

The Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said he does not expect big freebies like cheap crop loans in the forthcoming Budget for 2013-14 which is likely to be “a tight budget”.“This budget will be a tight budget. I am little worried,” Pawar said in an interview.

Here are some budget predictions that may impact us directly

Tax slabs may not tinkered.
Despite calls from various quarters for tax slab / rate changes, it is believed that it may not be changed significantly. Also the proposals for the higher tax rate for the ‘super-rich’, may not be implemented.

Government may hike excise duty on diesel vehicle
The finance ministry is examining proposals to increase excise duty on diesel cars but the hike may be differentiated in terms of passenger and commercial vehicles, and small, medium and heavy vehicles

Government may raise import duty on gold to 6 percent
In an effort to make gold more expensive to discourage people from buying the precious metal, finance minister P Chidambaram is likely to raise the import duty on gold by 2 percentage points to 6 percent

Excise, service taxes may rise in the coming Budget
The government is planning a 2 percent hike in excise and service taxes to 14 percent in the next budget, a move that could make most consumer products and services more expensive.