No sooner had the speech ended, the budget was hailed by business and industry groups. It advances tax cuts and other incentives amounting to Rs184 billion.
It also significantly hikes penalties for non-filers of tax returns. From LNG imports to livestock, from income tax cuts to sales tax relief, hardly any sector has been spared from the wide-ranging cuts contained within it.
The revenue plan leaves a lot of questions though, and scepticism is thick about its viability.