R S Lodha, past president of Ficci and noted tax consultant

I would place this Budget on very high pedestal. Finance Minister Jaswant Singh has done a commendable job. I would have been happier if the finance minister has used this opportunity and given bigger boost to the Indian economy by removing double taxation on dividends. If he had removed this it would have been good for everyone. You must understand that if a company pays higher tax, it passes it on to its consumers and shareholders.

It is not correct that companies do not pay taxes at all. This impression arises because of our concept of direct and indirect taxes. Companies pay lot of indirect taxes. They can at best differ the direct taxes for sometime. Companies are the most productive part of our economy.

I feel that the finance minister could have refrained from taxing companies like twelve and a half per cent on the dividend outflow. If he had done that it would have given bigger boost to the corporate sector.

Though he has halved the surcharge from 5 per cent to two and a half per cent, he has put the additional surcharge on those who have an income of over Rs 850,000 per annum.

I also welcome increasing the service tax from five per cent to eight per cent and adding 10 more items to the service tax. He has thereby broadened the service tax. I would say this is a historic move.

As told to Onkar Singh in New Delhi