Kejriwal asked for Rs 10 lakh relief, Nirmala gives Rs 2 lakh more

This year’s Budget has evoked mixed responses from the middle class section, small business owners, and salaried professionals.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal
Updated on
1 min read

NEW DELHI: Ten days ago, while launching his party’s manifesto, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal focused on the middle class and demanded that the Centre scrap income tax on earnings up to Rs 10 lakh. Fast-forward to February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman outdid what he sought. She raised the rebate limit to Rs 12 lakh, benefitting a large segment of the middle class.

The Centre’s tax relief apparently signals the ‘middle class’ is back in contention as a significant factor as election campaigning reaches a crescendo, prompting parties to hurriedly revise their strategies.

The rebate limit of Rs 12 lakh may impact 27 constituencies with a significant middle-class voter base in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, set for poll on February 5.

Experts routinely analyse its economic implications when the FM unveils the Budget each year. However, for the average citizen, the budget is less about fiscal terms like GDP growth or capital expenditure and more about its effect on their daily lives.

This year’s Budget has evoked mixed responses from the middle class section, small business owners, and salaried professionals. Many middle-class taxpayers welcomed the government’s move to ease their tax burden.

“I earn Rs 87,000 per month and pay 4% tax, but the Budget gives solid relief. Now, this 4% will stay in my pocket and help support my family,” said Shashi Narayan from Cattarpur.

Anurag Sharma, a resident of Hari Nagar, was happy with the revised tax exemption limit. “House rents are already high, and paying taxes added to the burden. But with the new exemption, middle-class people like me, who earn Rs 11 lakh a year, will get relief,” he said.

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