Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will today present her 7th straight Budget that would lay a roadmap for Viksit Bharat by 2047 while giving a glimpse of 10 years’ performance.
All eyes will be on whether Sitharaman provides the much-expected tax relief for the middle class, leaving more money in their hands, as there is tax buoyancy. Besides, the market also expects staying on the fiscal glide path to lower the fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26.
The middle class and the salaried class are looking for more exemptions in the income tax limits. The want the deductions to be raised toa much higher level. They feel that most of the income earned is to going to the Government in the form of tax.
The salaried class wants more tax exemptions.
Ms Sitharaman, who would be presenting her seventh straight budget,had in her first Budget in 2019 replaced the leather briefcase –which had been in use for decades for carrying Budget documents –with a traditional ‘bahi-khata’ wrapped in red cloth. This year’s Budget would be in paperless form, as done in the last three years.
