Tag: union budget 2019

India likely to let budget deficit rise as tax receipts fall short

The government is likely to overshoot the budget deficit target previously set for the current fiscal year, three officials have warned, as a slowing economy creates a big shortfall in tax collections and prompts new stimulus plans. Budget 2019

New Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents her first budget on July 5, for the fiscal year ending March 2020. It is also the first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term after his government was returned in a landslide election win last month.

Since becoming prime minister in 2014, Modi succeeded in improving public finances, trimming the fiscal deficit to 3.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) from 4.5% in 2013/14, mostly through subsidies cuts and fuel taxes.

He is now, however, under pressure to loosen the purse strings to follow through on election promises such as increased spending on roads and housing and tax cuts for companies and individuals.

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Know the Union Budget: What is a Finance Bill and why is it important?

When a piece of legislation is yet to be passed as a law by the Houses of Parliament, it is termed a Bill. A Finance Bill is a Bill that, as the name suggests, concerns the country’s finances — it could be about taxes, government expenditures, government borrowings, revenues, etc. Since the Union Budget deals with these things, it is passed as a Finance Bill.

Rule 219 of the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha states: ‘Finance Bill’ means the Bill ordinarily introduced in each year to give effect to the financial proposals of the Government of India for the following financial year and includes a Bill to give effect to supplementary financial proposals for any period.

BUDGET 2019

There are different kinds of Finance Bills — the most important of them is the Money Bill. The Money Bill is concretely defined in Article 110. A Money Bill is certified by the Speaker as such — in other words, only those Financial Bills that carry the Speaker’s certification are Money Bills.

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