Kolkata, Jan 9 (IANS) The economy would grow at 5.5 percent to six percent this fiscal and would rise by around one percent next year, the prime minister’s Economic Advisory Council Chairman C. Rangarajan said here Wednesday.
“My assessment is that the growth for the current year (2012-13) will be 5.5 percent to six percent,” Rangarajan told mediapersons on the sidelines of a programme here.
The former Reserve Bank of India governor foresaw a rise in the growth figure for 2013-14.
“I think next year the growth will be one percent higher, around seven percent,” he said.
On his recent comments pitching for higher tax rates for the super-rich, Rangarajan said the definition of “super-rich” has to be determined by taxes they pay and their income levels.
“The idea is that people above a certain income level should be taxed. There are two ways of raising the tax rates for the super-rich. The highest tax slab is 30 percent. We can add an additional higher slab, or we can keep the slab the same but impose a surcharge for income above a particular level,” he said.
Rangarajan said the logic behind the idea is that the tax-GDP ratio should go up as there was need for greater money flow into the economy.
However, he replied in the negative when asked whether a formal proposal has been placed before the union finance ministry on taxing the super rich. “This is only an idea,” Rangarajan said.
