|
DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran claimed on Saturday that the Central Government's Union Budget is primarily designed to appeal to voters ahead of the Delhi elections.
He described the budget as "confusing," pointing out that while the Finance Minister initially announced that there would be no taxes for income up to 12 lakhs, she later revealed a 10% tax slab for income between 8 and 12 lakhs. "It's a very disappointing Budget. The Budget seems to be like that, it's planned in such a way to woo the voters for Delhi, especially the Delhi elections coming on 5th February. The FM has given a big exemption saying that for Rs 12 Lakhs, there is no tax. Then she goes on to say that there is a slab of 10% for Rs 8-12 Lakhs. So, it is very confusing. I think the devil is in the details. She tries to promise the voters there is exemption of tax till Rs 12 Lakhs but this is not simple and straightforward. They have to claim in TDS and all these things...So, basically it's a let-down for the middle class once again," he said. He further stated that the Finance Minister has once again deceived the middle class, alleging that announcements made for Bihar were merely for election purposes, with no mention of budget benefits for the southern states. "Middle class seems to be have been cheated by the FM once again. The infrastructure is not going for the rest of the country, it is going only towards Bihar because there are elections in Bihar this year...There is not a single word for Tamil Nadu or any other southern states...," he added. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said that there needs to be an examination on the status of old proporals before looking at the ones in this budget. "There has been a slew of new proposals but one must also see what happened to the proposals announced in the previous budget. Some grand schemes were announced in the previous budget as well. So what is the status of them? And now another slew of schemes have been announced, which will all, even in their own words, only get fulfilled well after the culmination of this parliament in 2029. So we'll have to see the efficacies of all these schemes, the previous schemes in this... It's quite natural that every time a state comes up for election, it seems to be, it gets a disproportionate amount of attention. But that seems to be the political direction in which budgets are made these days,"he said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her Union Budget 2025 speech, announced that no income tax will be payable on income up to Rs 12 lakh, providing significant relief to taxpayers especially the middle class. This limit will be Rs 12.75 lakh rupees for salaried tax payers counting Rs 75,000 of standard deduction. She also stated that the new income tax regime will be simpler, with a special focus on benefiting the middle class. But there is a catch, the exemption can be earned only if a tax payer takes relief under various sections of the income tax act like Rs 1.5 lakh exemption under section 80CCC, exemption of Rs 1.5 lakh for paying interest on home loans. Finance Minister made a significant announcement for Bihar, proposing the formation of a Makhana Board, the establishment of new greenfield airports, and the expansion of Patna Airport. The Finance Minister also announced the establishment of the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management in Bihar to provide a strong fillip to food processing activities in the entire Eastern region.(ANI)
|
