Opposition hits out at Centre for Budget

New Delhi: Opposition parties on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the government in the Lok Sabha over the Union Budget, alleging that it had nothing for salaried and the middle class, and it neither addressed the issue of unemployment nor took any step to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure for households.

As the Lok Sabha on Tuesday started a discussion on the Finance Bill 2024, all eyes will be on finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s reply on Wednesday to see if she offers some relief, including on the hike in short- and long-term capital gains tax.

The government has been under pressure to roll back the proposal to remove indexation benefits on long-term capital gains tax on real estate. In the Budget, the finance minister had proposed a 12.5 per cent tax on long-term capital gain made on real estate investments and removed indexation benefits.

The finance ministry had been discussing the feedback received on the tax proposals on the budget with the PMO.

Speaking on the Finance Bill 2024, Trinamul Congress MP Mahua Moitra said Sitharaman had made a mockery of people of India by doing absolutely nothing; whatever little changes were made were regressive and ill-thought of. She criticised the Budget for failing to address the needs of the common people, calling it an "elucidatory budget".

"People wanted a course correction, but you have done the exact opposite. You have kept the same Cabinet, the same finance minister, who has given the same shoddy Budget," Moitra said.

Earlier, initiating the debate on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Amar Singh said that it appeared in the Budget that the Union government was taxing the poor, while sparing the rich.

"From what the government has proposed, it appears the Centre intends to take away every single rupee from the salaried class, the common man, while the rich are being spared," Mr Singh said.

"If we look at Income-Tax, the tax on individuals is 19 per cent of total tax, while the corporate tax is 17 per cent. Why is the income tax more? In every way, you are increasing individual tax, and bringing down corporate tax. Who is the government working for?" he asked.

BJP MP Nishikant dubey, meanwhile, welcomed the Budget and called it "historic". "Across the world, economies are growing at 2.5 per cent to 2.7 per cent. India is a ray of hope for the world," he said, lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for it. "We are working towards the goal of a developed India by 2047," he said.