Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal presented the Interim Budget on 1st February 2019.
What are the positives?
Small taxpayers - Various proposals announced in the interim Budget are aimed to ease tax burden on salaried class, small taxpayers as well as passive income earners such as senior citizens.
In the absence of a social security net or unemployment benefits for unorganised sector workforce, the new pension scheme will be of significant advantage.
Tax net - The limit of Income-tax Rebate has now been increased to Rs.12,500 from Rs.2,500 for taxpayers having income up to Rs.5 lakh.
But people will have to file returns to earn a rebate, thus enlarging the tax base.
Reduced red tape - The complicated filing forms, elaborate disclosures, demand notices and scrutiny assessments have been concerns for individual taxpayers.
The 2019 Budget has now promised to process tax returns within 24 hours with quick refunds and move scrutiny assessments wholly to the electronic mode.
Real Estate - Tax policies of governments in recent years have controlled the Indian investors' obsession for real estate, and have directed them towards financial investments.
But signalling a change of stance, the 2019 Budget has proposals that would work as significant incentives for home buyers.
What are the criticisms?
There has been a general perception that this elaborate interim Budget is aimed at seeking votes.
e.g PM-KISAN will benefit over 120 million farmer families, among which a third of these families live in UP and Bihar. The electoral benefit of such a scheme is very evident.
Schemes towards benefitting middle class is also seen as identifying and targeting the sections of population that are in distress and unhappy with the Centre.
No Interim Budget in the past announced a new programme with as huge an annual expenditure outlay as the Rs.75,000 crore, thus breaking precedence of minimum spending during election years.
No Interim Budget in the past also announced as big an income-tax concession.
So it is not right for a government that will be in power for few months to constitute a financial burden for the coming years as well.
