Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has followed the tradition of the Budget being a document that conceals more than it reveals.
While there is an appreciation of the new direction, the common man's deserved expectation of an increase in the income tax exemption limit has not been considered. Instead, the service tax rate has been raised, which means you are taking away more money from the consumer. Regarding the figure of Rs 4,44,420, does our finance minister think that everyone has so much money to get this benefit? The worst segment is the senior citizen, who got a raw deal without any benefit. One hopes that the finance minister and other MPs cutting across party lines will urge not only for an increase in the tax exemption limits but also some relief to senior citizens.
M B Balasubramanyam, Bengaluru
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