The government's new tax proposals have impacted India's image as an investment destination, TCS chief N Chandrasekaran has told NDTV's Vikram Chandra.
Two tax provisions, one that empowers tax authorities to retroactively tax the indirect transfer of assets and second, which targets tax evaders through the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR), putting the onus on investors registered in countries with special tax exemptions with India to prove they do not intend to explicitly avoid tax, have dented investor confident in India.
"On a broader level, it's more about continuity of practice, tax regimes, and stability of policies - all those things are concerns which we need to fix and get our act together," Mr. Chandrasekaran told NDTV.
The TCS boss was speaking to NDTV after taking over as the chairman of industry body Nasscom. The body represents the $100 billion Indian IT-BPO industry.
"Certainly, there is a concern about the India story, which is partly our making and partly because we believe that the global crisis will affect us... We have to get our act together, whether it is in terms of policy, decision making or managing the fiscal deficit, whatever it is. It's a big concern for investments coming into India," Mr. Chandrasekaran added.
Mr. Chandrasekaran, who heads India's biggest software services export company, was however positive that the government will be able to steer the country to growth.
"I am very positive on India and India will do very well. There are issues; there have been issues in the past. There are enough people who want it to happen," he said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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