Visakhapatnam: Salaried classes were disappointed that the Income Tax rates have not been reduced in the Interim Budget 2024.Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Budget in Parliament on Thursday, made it clear that there would be no change in the taxation rates for the coming fiscal.She highlighted a significant reduction in the average time for tax refunds – which was 93 days in 2013-2014 that has been reduced to just 10 days last year.She also claimed that there was a 50 per cent increase in the average real income of the people across the board. Many laughed at this claim.Lilly Grace, professor of Economics in Andhra University, said income taxpayers were disappointed. “There exists a widening wealth gap and the budget is a political manoeuvre for garnering votes.”K.V.R. Prasad, a retired port employee, voiced his frustration. He said, post-Covid, the government had taken away many benefits given to the common citizens, rendering them ineligible even for loans and insurance.S. Aravind Kumar, an employee in the automobile sector, offered a mixed perspective. While acknowledging potential benefits for the industry, he criticised the lack of ‘appreciation and depreciation’ measures in the budget. He questioned the government’s confidence in claiming a 5.11 per cent growth.
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