New Delhi: The government is likely to attempt a comprehensive tax reform in the union budget for the next financial year, finance minister P Chidambaram said today

"I promise you that government will maintain stable and moderate rates. But for a comprehensive tax reform, wait for the next budget," he told the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Last week, Chidambaram announced billions of dollars in spending for the poor in an expansionary Budget that taxed the rich but lacked any major steps to tackle a nagging deficit.

Chidambaram said the electoral mandate the UPA Government got was for continuing the reforms process and taking up measures in agriculture and rural economy that had not been addressed during the previous NDA Government rule.

He said: "it is a complex electoral mandate. As the finance minister, it is my duty to interpret it and act accordingly. If I don''t, I face rejection like the previous government did."

The mandate, he said, was for continuing with the reforms initiated in the last five years and to take up measures which were not addressed to by the previous Government. Investment in agriculture, basic needs of rural India and needs of social sectors like education and primary health care must be addressed to, he said.