FM Sitharaman Tells News18 Govt Did Not Want to Fund Budget 2021 Through Taxation FOLLOW US ON: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday told Network 18 Editor-in-chief Rahul Joshi that the government did not want to fund the budgetary allocations through taxation. After unveiling the keenly-watched Union Budget 2021, the Finance Minister said the government did not want to burden the consumer, and that tax increase was not on the table. "I certainly didn’t want to fund this whole operation through taxation. By increasing tax, getting the money and then spending is not something which any of us even put on the table for consideration. So that is why I have made provision for large borrowings with the tax buoyancy kept at a very conservative level, and with disinvestment, asset monetisation and improved goods and services tax (GST) collection, I hope we will be looking at better ways of handling our finances," she said.