Budget 2022-23: What does the Common man want #2

In a democracy, the common men/women (read honest taxpayers) are the source from which the government gets most of the money to run the country. They have a lot of expectations from the budget but invariably no one approaches them or asks them what they want. Paradoxically the so-called common men/women are not seen or heard in the corridors of power. This is the gap that Taazakhabar News tried to fill up by providing a platform for the common men/women to express their views and concerns. Here is what they expect to see in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget for FY 2022-23:

Deepak Manchanda, New Delhi

It is common for the common man to ask for tax relief in every Budget that comes around. It is true that high rates of direct tax in combo with a slew of indirect taxes are a common pain for all of us. It is true that the common man has lost vastly and endured deeply the pain of the ongoing pandemic. It is true that Senior Citizens receive little relief. It’s undeniable that these are common grounds that the budget needs to address.

But what I really feel the Budget needs to emphasize more is expenditure and expenditure management instead of so much attention to revenue/tax collection. Instead of lofty policy pronouncements and politically motivated schemes, I personally wish the Budget would emphasise really burning issues like public health, education and unemployment in a purposeful way. So, as a common man, I can only hope for an uncommon Budget!

C. Srikumar, General  Secretary, All India Defence  Employees  Federation

Till a  few years back the common man used to anxiously wait for the  Union  Budget.  However, nowadays the common man is scared of the Budget. This year the whole human civilization is struggling against the COVID-19 pandemic. Crores of people have lost their jobs. Unemployment is increasing day by day. Small scale and medium scale industries have closed. Government industries like Ordnance Factories are being corporatized. The public sector is already undergoing major privatization. For each and every item GST is getting increased. The interest rate on the savings of the common man is being slashed down. In this backdrop what can the common man expect? However one can always have the following expectation:

• Income tax limit may be enhanced to Rs.10 lakh per year.
• Pension income of senior citizens should be exempted from income tax.
• 9 lakh vacancies in central Government and 4 lakh vacancies in CPSU’s should be filled up to generate employment.
• Central Government Employees and pensioners may be paid the 18 months frozen DA /DR arrears.
• Public distribution system may be strengthened to ensure that all essential commodities are made available in the PDS outlets.
• LPG subsidy to be restored. Fuel prices (Petrol, Diesel) should be kept under control.
• Ordnance Factory corporatization should be withdrawn.
• Festival Advance should be restored to the Central Government employees.
• Disinvestment of PSU’s and privatization of Nationalized Banks should be stopped.
• The  4 anti-worker  labor  codes  should be  withdrawn  and  Indian  Labor Conference  should  be  held regularly.

B C Bhartiya,  National President, Confederation of all India Traders (CAIT), Nagpur

After the economic crisis for two consecutive financial years due to covid-19, MSMEs are expecting a historical dynamic progressive growth-oriented budget, which will provide financial relief to the death ridden MSMEs.

The finance minister will have to ensure the best measures that can be taken to boost the economy from the lowest level. The much-awaited reform will be measured to Infuse liquidity in the market for sustained growth of the economy. Giving subsidies may not be all that beneficial but making cheap money available at lightning speed to bring the economy on the fast track of growth is the need of the hour.

Ease of doing business has practically vanished in the market. MSMEs are ending up collecting taxes, depositing taxes, fees, fines and penalties. The traders are busy doing statutory compliance. They have become tax collectors of the government, IT, bookkeepers and Statistics providers for the government. They hardly have time to do business. The cost of tax compliance has also gone very high.

What concrete measures Finance Minister is going to propose has to be seen. The unemployment problem is the biggest challenge. Unethical, illegal and immoral way of doing E-Commerce business is eating away the traditional business of traders. If these are not properly regulated a large section of society make become unemployed and unemployable. What is government stake in this has to be understood.

The provisions of tax deduction at source and tax collection at source under the Income Tax Act is resulting in the locking up of huge working capital. This blocked working capital is later on released as a refund. The traders are expecting that the limits of TDS should be increased by at least 10 times. Provisions of TCS should be removed from Income Tax Act.

GST was brought as the ultimate reform in indirect taxes. However, it has created more confusion and compliance burden. MSMEs are ending up paying huge amounts of fines and penalties along with interest. e way bill is becoming another nuisance in ease of doing business.

It is suggested that government should give one time chance by offering an opportunity of coming clean – and introduce a scheme allowing people to make time corrections in all GST returns. Any amount resulting in a refund should be credited to the electronic ledger of the assessee. The assessee should be allowed to take an input tax credit of 10% in every return.

Rajat Kumar, Technical Manager, Nokia Networks private Ltd

• As the Indian economy bounces back to pre-pandemic levels and aims to surpass the $5 trillion GDP mark by 2025, it is important to protect the health of all citizens from the risks associated with any future pandemic. To mitigate these risks, the role of the health insurance sector becomes even more vital, necessitating a collaborative effort to improve health insurance penetration and the development of healthcare facilities across the country.
• Tax rebate for medium class and salaried person
• Focus on health considering the epidemic, other diseases.

Dev Raj Singh, software engineer, Patna and owner of theyuvas.com

The budget needs to promote the growth and regeneration of the economy and create a positive buzz in the market so that the common man can survive. In the past, more than two years Covid-19 has taken a major toll on the economy and pushed the market down to its limits. Healthcare, education and jobs need further reform to help the common people grow and prosper. It can also give a big boost to the prime minister’s vision of making India self-reliant. To achieve maximum growth in the economy, the budget should focus on promoting skill development and employment.

Dr Kumar Gaurav, Dental Surgeon, Big Smile Dental Clinic

• The budget needs to revive many industries/ sectors which have borne the brunt of the covid pandemic.
• Already there is a big burden due to indirect taxation and freebies in return for votes, which indirectly hamper overall growth and survival
• The boom in e-commerce has already made business tough for small enterprises.
• Taxation should focus on work orientation, reduce freebies and make a conducive environment for income, saving and better opportunities
• Tier 1 to tier 4 urban population along with rural sector needs sustained growth as it affects overall economic improvement in the national scenario
• Let the public earn and save to spend wisely…don’t give platters. If farmers are producers,140 million people are consumers…

Ruchi Saxena – AGM – Richa Exports pvt Ltd Gurugram

• Income tax exemption level should be increased to give common man some relief from inflation
• Petrol prices to be curbed .
• Electricity and water should be free / at least subsidised like LPG to start with
• Bank savings and fixed deposit interest rates to be increased with a special / extra percentage consideration for women; right now it is 1% extra for senior citizens but no special consideration for women .
• More budget should be allocated towards safety of women – wh6 are still very un-safe in our country

Devendra Tiwari, National General Secretary, All India Consumer Welfare Council (AICWC)

The budget that is going to be presented in Parliament on 1 February 22 should seek to end GST, taxes should be reduced, and one country, one tax system should be implemented. The objective should be to simplify the process and make it easy to pay taxes.

• Efforts should also be made to prevent the closure of banks.
• Unemployment is increasing in the ​​villages. There is a need to prevent unemployment among the youth and harness their true potential for nation-building.  
• Widows, handicapped, and old people should be provided with pension facilities.
• There is also scope for improvement in the condition of hospitals in rural areas.

Chinnu susan varghese, Bangalore

One of the key expectations from the forthcoming budget of 2022 is the reduction in income tax rates from 30% to 25% for taxpayers of above 15 Lakh annual income. Increasing the basic exemption limit will provide tax relief for the common man at difficult times.

Rinkle Sharma, author

The year 2022 is being seen as the year of hope – the hope of good health, the hope of a life free from restrictions. Like every common man, I have expectations from the 2022 budget. Firstly, the immediate hope is the reduction of the tax burden of the taxpayers. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in one way or the other. Raising the basic exemption limit will provide tax relief to individuals, increase liquidity and boost the economy. Second, due to travel restrictions, employees have not been able to avail of LTC in the current block period of 2020-2021. Hence, the government should introduce an LTC cash voucher scheme as an alternative. Third and very important, I would suggest that the government increase the exemption limit for interest income for senior citizens at the earliest. As we know health is paramount in everyone’s life due to pandemics. So this may be a good time to encourage more people to ensure their health. The government should consider raising the upper limit of the health insurance premium and at the same time reducing the cost of medicines.

V K Juneja, stock market analyst

The common man wants to save more to increase his spending capacity, which in return in more earnings in GST and a boost in employment generation. This is possible by reducing the tax load and increasing interest in his savings. Inflation also plays a great role on the factor on the pocket of a common man. Although this depends on various factors common man will be happier if some steps are taken to minimise inflation.

Brijesh Srivastav, Noida

The government attention is always on social welfare schemes. It should be so but special attention should be paid to the middle class. The population of India is reaching 135 crores. But the number of taxpayers is not increasing at that pace. There should be an increase in the number of taxpayers. Ideally, the taxpayers should get the maximum benefits from the government schemes.

Abdul Gani, Social Activist, Mumbai

People have high expectations from the government in this budget. The government should keep in mind the situation in the country over the past two years and accordingly take decisions in the interest of the people. The price of petrol, diesel and gas is increasing day by day. It has become difficult to pay school college fees too. How will the country progress if the common man is not happy? We hope that this time the government will give a helping hand to the poor.