Chidu's Budget affects Azim Premji,impresses Narayana Murthy

Bangalore, March 1: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented his 8th

on Thursday, Feb 28. The minister tried to woo the aam-aadmi (common man) ahead of the crucial general election which is expected to be held in 2014.

However, the union budget 2013-14, which has received mixed reactions from the experts, may leave different impact on super rich people of this country. Azim Premji and Narayana Murthy - the two most famous persons in India, must be two among them. While the latter expressed his opinion on the budget presented by Chidambaram, the former is yet to do the same.

While the Infosys founder Mr Murthy openly lauded the budget, experts believe that Wipro Chairperson Mr Premji might have lost few friends from his circle following Chidambaram's budget.

How Budget 2013-14 may affect Premji:

According to experts, Chidambaram's mention of Mr Premji and invoking the philanthropic spirit of the Wipro founder may irk other rich persons who might have to pay more.

The budget 2013-14 says that Indians, who have income of over Rs 1 crore, will have to pay 10 percent extra on which is now being called the super rich tax.

Mr Premji, the third richest Indian, recently has made history after transferring shares worth about Rs 12,300 crore to his philanthropic arm, the Azim Premji Trust. The trust is the largest philanthropic transfer by any individual in the country.

Premji's deeds have set an example for other billionaires of this country who might be irked with Chidambaram's remark - "I belive there is a little bit of the spirit of Mr Azim Premji in every affluent tax payer."

What Chidambaram said while presenting Budget:

The finance minister said, "There will be a 10 per cent surcharge on the super rich, that is people with an income of over Rs 1 crore. This super rich tax will impact 42,800 people. A 10 per cent surcharge also on corporate tax for incomes over Rs 10 crore. With this the government hopes to mop up Rs 13,300 crore. There is no change in tax rates and slabs, also no change in excise and customs duty."

How Budget 2013 impressed Mr Murthy:

Commenting on the 10 percent surcharge of tax, Mr Murthy said, "I am quite happy about this surcharge because at the end of the day, in a country like India where there is so much of poverty, people earning Rs 1 crore shouldn't crib about paying a 10 percent surcharge."

" Therefore, I welcome it. We should all pay reasonable taxes in this country. We don't pay any tax on our dividends and long term capital gains tax is zero. So, if you consider all those things, this is peanuts," he added.

However, Mr Murthy also expressed his disappointment with UPA government while commenting, "The reality is simply that the CEOs in India have a lot of hassles with the government. That is not because of ministers, that is not because of any specific bureaucrat but the whole system itself is attuned to apathy, inaction, postponement and the 'chalta hai' attitude. The need of the day is to make sure that we act as if there is no tomorrow."

What other industrialists think about Budget 2013-14:

CEO and Managing Director of Fortis Healthcare Ltd, Shivinder Mohan Singh said, "I think it's a good budget. We need to do whatever is needed to do according to the growth. It's pro-investments, more directional. The Finance Minister has not put any surprises, that's good."

Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India, Naina Lal Kidwai said, "Growth is important. We need to bring the agenda to the centre. The taxes have come by way of surcharge."

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