As Rs 1 lakh ceiling for eligible investments for tax saving under Section 80C is easily breached in the case of assesses in the upper middle and higher tax slabs, the existing ceiling should be raised to Rs 2 lakh to stimulate higher saving and investment

To enable profit making corporates share their wealth among shareholders and to avoid double taxation of corporate profits, the dividend distribution tax be reduced from the current 15 per cent to 5 per cent. This measure helps boost retail investment sentiment in equities besides broadening the capital market.

To provide relief to pensioners and bank depositors TDS on deposit interest income be lowered from 10 per cent to 5 per cent along with raising the ceiling for TDS from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000. Also the tenure of eligible bank fixed deposits for investment under Section 80C be reduced from the existing 5 years to 2 years to reduce long lock-up period.

Reduce indirect taxes to contain the hardening retail inflation to boost consumption, investment and productivity.

Venkatesh N Muttur, Retired banker, Hubli