FBT flouts ITA

Having successfully waltzed the political tightrope with the Budget, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram delivered a sucker punch to the common man.

Following a huge public outcry, the finance minister was constrained to partially roll back two seemingly senseless tax proposals -- withdrawal tax and fringe benefit tax.

Perhaps, he feared that the practical option of a complete roll-back would bestow him with the title of a 'Roll-Back Finance Minister'.

Perhaps, with the passage of time, he will realise that ministers come and go; people forget them, but not their legacy.