I expect the following in budget 2006:
The budget shall be a surplus budget.
Calendar year shall be Financial Year. Budget 2006 shall be for April — December 2006.
There shall be uniformity in tax rates. Income tax exemption limit is Rs.1,00,000/- except for women which is Rs.1,25,000/- and senior citizens Rs.1,50,000/-. The exemption limit for all should be Rs.1,50,000/-. Mostly men are the sole earning members and senior citizens do not have to take care of children.
Lot of money that is collected through taxes and spent on various schemes does not help the people. There is swindling and corruption. The country will be better off without these schemes. Taxes also lead to corruption. This has to be avoided. The Finance Minister shall announce the following:
Income Tax will be reduced by 1% per year and after 30 years there will be no Income Tax.
Service Tax will be reduced by 1% per year and after 10 years there will be no Service Tax.
Other taxes will be reduced gradually.
Subsidies will be abolished.
Employment Guarantee Scheme will be wound up.
MPLADS will be abolished.
There will be constitutional amendment to abolish Profession Tax.
Mid-day meal scheme will be scrapped.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Human Resource Development implement a number of schemes. They will come to an end.
Backward Regions Grant Fund will come to an end.
There will be no special economic packages for Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir and the North Eastern Region or any other State or region.
The Rural Infrastructure Development Fund will come to an end.
The UPA Government will not do anything:
- Â to bring an additional one crore hectares under assured irrigation;
- to connect all villages that have a population of 1000 (or 500 in hilly/tribal areas) with a road;
- to construct 60 lakh additional houses for the poor;
- to provide drinking water to the remaining 74,000 habitations that are uncovered;
- to reach electricity to the remaining 1,25,000 villages and offer electricity connection
- to 2.3 crore households; and
- to give telephone connectivity to the remaining 66,822 villages.
‘Bharat Nirman’ will be scrapped.
Government will not provide equity support.
National Horticulture Mission will come to an end.
A Knowledge Centre in Every Village is the job of villagers.
“Promotion of SSI Schemes” will come to an end.
Indira Awas Yojana will come to an end.
National Urban Renewal Mission will come to an end.
Education cess will come to an end.
Cash withdrawal tax will come to an end.
Financial Institutions will unload their holdings. It is not the business of the government to keep up stock markets.