PANJIM: The decision by the government to present a statement of accounts has not gone down very well with some members of the business community. Not wishing to be identified for fear of raising the heckles of people in the government, a businessman said the State was running without a government for a year. A statement of accounts was ok but a full proper budget document was important to show the people who were paying the taxes as to where the money was being spent and what the future held.
A senior business executive, who has been involved in discussions regarding policy in the past, said: “I am fed up. What is the point of having a budget when nothing that is decided is ever implemented? Where did the money ever go, your guess is as good as mine? Look at the tourism industry, in a mess and what is happening, monies are being spent on roadshows and advertising and to what end. Look at agriculture, there was talk of creating a proper vegetable mandi in the state and what happened. This was all discussed in past budget speeches. Just talk. Budgets or statement of accounts mean nothing”.
From that rather harsh assessment, Sandip Bhandare, GCCI President was more nuanced. Sandip said “Today, revenue is controlled by GST. State has no control. We are looking at the GST rate at five-star hotels which is pegged at 28% which we would like to see reduced. We need to spend more on industrial infrastructure and more importantly power and water scenario”.
The roads in the industrial estate have to be renovated and power generators have to be replaced. Money has also to be allocated for education and skill development. He said with technology evolving rapidly the kind of facilities at schools had to improve. Digital connectivity was important and it was also important to acquire practical experience. The importance of skill development could not be more important. All this he felt was important and a proper budget had to be presented.
