Budget 2018: Expect reduction in corporate tax, MAT, says Adi Godrej

With the Union Budget 2018 less than a month away, Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej is batting for a pro-growth Budget and hopes that the government brings down corporate tax rates to 25 percent.

He also expects incentives for the agriculture sector.
He said the Budget should focus on growth because it is important for the economy.

In order to be more competitive in the world, there is need to bring down the corporate tax, he said. “The government has been talking about reduction in corporate tax but they were brought down only for smaller companies, tax rate for larger companies should be brought down to 25 percent,” he said.

According to him, the minimum alternate tax (MAT) has also become quite burdensome and in order for incentives to work, the MAT should also be brought down.

This will help us become competitive with the US and other countries will follow.

He said lower rates does not mean that tax collection will fall because if the economy booms, fiscal deficit will not go up.

He said there are other things that can also be done like treating animal husbandry at par with agriculture because it forms around 25-30 percent of the income of farmers.