We are looking forward to the Union Budget 2018. As entrepreneurs, we have dual expectations from the government. Firstly, we want that government should support the entrepreneurial initiatives and secondly we want a favorable tax regime. The massive changes in the economy in the last few years like demonetisation (which happened on November 8, 2016) and GST implementation (that came into effect on July 1, 2017) should begin to reflect their effects from this financial year onwards.
Rationalisation of corporate taxes is a big expectation from this budget. There should be a paring down of corporate tax to 25-28 per cent. The tax cuts would help the entrepreneurs to manage the challenges arising out of the changes made by other administrations around the world, especially the US.
We also, foresee a continued support from the government for the entrepreneurial innovations through simplified rules and ease of its implementation. The risk and expense of conducting serious research and development (R&D) efforts are often beyond the means of many startups. But, by reserving a per cent of dedicated research and development (R&D) funds for startups, the government can help small businesses to compete on the same level as larger businesses. Tech startups are growing at a much faster pace and for them to evolve and innovate they need funds and single window access. In my opinion, having a dedicated Innovation fund is something that we would expect from the government to support the startups in 2018.
(Vinay Singhal is Co-Founder and CEO, WittyFeed)
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