Call drop

The Budget announcement that overseas acquisitions involving assets in India would be taxed retrospectively was by no means a unanimous one within government. The buzz on Raisina Hill is that the issue was discussed at a pre-Budget meeting among ministers in the prime minister’s office at which it was suggested that Vodafone should perhaps be outside the ambit of the amendment since the Supreme Court had ruled in its favour. At this, the finance minister reportedly closed the file and said, “I have thought it through.” The Budget announcement that followed indicated where his mind lay.