Ficci has suggested that the shares allotted under the employees stock option shceme (ESOP) should only be subjected to long-term capital gains when these are actually sold by the employees and not as perquisites at the time of exercising the option. In its suggestion to widen the tax base, the chamber has also called for the introduction of agriculture income tax.

Since agriculture income in India forms about 28 per cent of the GDP, Ficci has called for bold measures to tax agriculture income of rich farmers.Ficci feels that there is a need for a long-term policy with bulit-in provisions for calibrating every year like the exim policy is followed in many countries. The rationale for this approach is to ensure to the investors both domestic and foreign, assesses both corporate and individuals a degree of certainty and finality in the tax related matters. The chamber feels that it will be in the interest of the tax administration to have a long-term policy perspective for gearing up the machinery for higher revenue realisations.

Along with the five-year policy, there has to be a stress on lowering rates both in case of direct and indirect taxes, feels Ficci.