New Delhi: A middle-class family living in east Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar says that there was nothing special in this year’s Union Budget failing to provide any tax relief for household kitchens, presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.
The middle class says that there was fear among the majority of the people that the Union government may increase direct taxes which ultimately did not happen.
The family says that Tuesday’s Budget was a “normal one” but said that a lot more could have been done by the Union government.
Saroj, a housewife, says that there is no reduction in cooking gas, oil and vegetables prices. The prices of pulses and foodgrains have not been reduced so being a housewife, she is not satisfied with this year’s budget.
R.C. Joshi, a senior member of the family, says that he is a retired army officer and was expecting some exemption in the tax slab for senior citizens but this year’s Budget did not provide any tax exemption.
He said, “The economy will be boosted from this year’s Budget, but how many more years will it take to create new jobs is difficult to comment at present. Nothing has been done for the limit on any one income tax slab. If the common man does not have enough savings, then how will he/she buy anything. The purchasing power of people will get automatically reduced. Emphasis has been laid on boosting infrastructure such as construction of 25,000-km road. I can’t comment how long will the common man avail its benefit. No concrete measures have been taken by the Union government for those people who have lost their jobs or whose salaries have been slashed during the Covid-19 infection.”
Radhika, another member of the same family, said that giving tax concession to an Anganwadi woman from a middle-class family will not yield any benefits. “There should be a reduction in the prices of ration and cooking gas in households, then only some respite will be available. Housewives had high expectations from the Modi government which seem to be unfulfilled by this budget.”
Another family member, Pooja, says that there is some tax relief announced in the budget such as clothes becoming cheaper, prices of items like shoes coming down but the prices of vegetables, grocery etc used in daily life need to becomes cheaper, only then we would have appreciated the Budget.
Achin, a youth from the same family, says, “There is nothing much for the youth in the Budget by lowering mobile phone prices. I run a stationery shop where all items have become expensive. The tax levied on stationery items has increased a lot, they should have been reduced. The Union government should have announced some tax relief. The ability to avail loans will only increase for the lower-income families without much relief for the middle class.”
Diksha, a chartered accountant student, says that the budget is only aimed at economic and industrial growth. “Nothing happens for the middle class anyways. Nothing has become cheaper nor expensive either, this is the special takeaway of this budget. According to me, the taxes have not been hiked, though prices of items like clothes, slippers, shoes etc have become cheaper which bodes well for the country’s economy moving ahead. All these daily use commodities are extremely important for a family. This is an average budget and if implemented properly, this could lead to economic growth. This budget is good for the next 25 years.”
There have been no changes announced in the income tax slabs for the Budget 2022-23.
(IANS)
