Interim Budget 2019: Modi assures more sops and benefits in full budget after the elections

Narendra Modi said that his government has been able to address the problem of financial distress of the farmers from the roots in the Interim Budget 2019.

 

Interim Budget 2018: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hailed the interim Budget 2019-20 as a “historic” step towards empowering peasants, workmen and the middle class, and promised more benefits for all sections in the full Budget if his party returned to power after the Lok Sabha polls.

In his presentation of the interim Budget in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal had announced an income support scheme for farmers, a pension scheme for workers in the unorganised sector, and a rebate for taxpayers with a taxable income of up to Rs 5 lakh, among other measures, making a strong pitch for the re-election of the National Democratic Alliance government.

“The interim Budget was just a trailer,” the Prime Minister said at a rally in Durgapur, West Bengal. “Wait till we bring out the regular Budget, which will have much more to offer and help the country emerge as a new India. Be it taxes or reaching out to farmers, the Budget was prepared keeping in mind that everybody benefits. It truly reflects our philosophy of sabka saath, sabka vikas.”

The PM said his government had been able to address the financial distress of farmers. Instead of announcing a one-time loan waiver for farmers, he said, the government had come up with a long-term solution whereby assistance worth Rs 7.5 trillion would be given to them in the next 10 years.

Read the full story here → Highlights of Budget 2019

Interim Budget 2019: In Modi's pro-farmer, pro-middle class Budget, here's what was missing

Conscious of unfulfilled promises and a patchy performance meant Goyal curbed use of 'development,' 'manufacturing,' 'growth' and 'infrastructure' unlike previous years.

 

Interim Budget 2018: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration delivered an election-year budget with a focus on rural parts of the country and the middle class.

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal unveiled measures on Friday that will allocate around $10 billion a year for an income plan for about 120 million farmers and give 185 billion rupees of relief to taxpayers in the year to March 2020.

Modi stormed to power in 2014 on promises of higher growth, faster job creation and better days for the country’s billion-plus population. But a lackluster performance on some of them coupled with relentless attack from the opposition, meant a last ditch attempt to set things right.

What Was Missing?

Conscious of unfulfilled promises and a patchy performance meant Goyal curbed use of ‘development,’ ‘manufacturing,’ ‘growth’ and ‘infrastructure’ unlike previous years.

Read the full story here → Highlights of Budget 2019

Interim Budget 2019: Tax rebates for middle class to benefit travel, tourism sector

The focus on tax rebates for the middle class has brought a sigh of relief for them and now they will be able to spend more on vacations.

Interim Budget 2018: Various initiatives in the interim budget such as tax rebates for the middle class will benefit the travel and tourism sector, industry players said.

"On the whole, the interim budget is promising for the travel industry, complemented by further tax rebate for the middle income group more savings, more travel," said FCM Travel Solutions MD Rakshit Desai.

Expressing similar views, EaseMyTrip Co-Founder & CEO Nishant Pittie said the budget announced promising initiatives that will definitely augur well for the Indian travel and tourism industry.
The focus on tax rebates for the middle class has brought a sigh of relief for them and now they will be able to spend more on vacations.

The government has increased the funds for the tourism ministry to Rs 2,189.22 crore for 2019-20.

"The exemption of income tax for middle and lower class segment of the society will increase the disposable income, which in line will trigger demand across consumer focused industries," Royal Orchid Hotels MD Chander Baljee said.

Read the full story here → Highlights of Budget 2019

Interim Budget 2019: Individuals earning Rs 8-9 lakh annually can escape taxes

Interim Budget for 2019-20 proposed to give full tax rebate to individuals having taxable annual income up to Rs 5 lakh with a view to benefiting around 3 crore middle class taxpayers. 

Interim Budget 2018: Individuals earning Rs 8-9 lakh annually would not have to pay any income tax if they make proper investments in tax saving instruments like provident fund, life insurance, pension scheme and home loan, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said Saturday.

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in the Interim Budget for 2019-20 proposed to give full tax rebate to individuals having taxable annual income up to Rs 5 lakh with a view to benefitting around 3 crore middle class taxpayers at an estimated revenue sacrifice of Rs 18,500 crore.

"We have given complete rebate of Income Tax so that people having taxable income of Rs 5 lakh do not have to pay any tax. Now people having even higher gross income if they make investment in 80C or if they pay interest on education or home loan, or if they invest in pension scheme, mediclaim, critical illness then people having much higher income in the range of Rs 8-9 lakh also can get their taxable income reduced to below Rs 5 lakh and get advantage of rebate and not pay any tax," Pandey told PTI in an interview.

The move would provide relief to middle class taxpayers comprising self employed, small businesses, small traders, salary earners, pensioners and senior citizens.

Under Section 80C of I-T Act, tax rebate is available for investments made in specified instruments like PPF, life insurance, tution fee, five-year term deposit in banks and Post Office, up to Rs 1.5 lakh in a year.

Read the full story here → Highlights of Budget 2019

Interim budget 2019: Soon, assessment and refunds for taxpayers in 24 hours

Technology-led improvements being undertaken by the government will result in a more user-friendly experience for taxpayers.

Interim Budget 2018: The government has been using technology extensively to make taxpayers’ lives easier. Even during the interim Budget, the finance minister (FM) highlighted the progress that has been made on the increased use of technology by the tax department.
Many functions such as returns, assessment, refunds and queries are now undertaken online.
With a massive increase in the number of tax return files - almost 68.5 million - it is not easy to deliver a taxpayer-friendly experience. Strong technology support is required to process returns without errors and to carry out other functions online.
The government is moving ahead fast. As the FM announced in his speech, the government has approved a technology-intensive project wherein tax returns will be processed within 24 hours and refunds will be issued simultaneously.
This is certainly music to the ears of taxpayers. It means if they have refunds, they will get it back almost immediately.
Questions and queries will be raised by the Income Tax (I-T) Department sooner, making it easier for taxpayers to respond, as the details will be fresh and handy.

Read the full story here → Highlights of Budget 2019