Budget has nothing for middle class, says Congress MP as LS takes up Finance Bill

The Union Budget for 2024-25 has nothing for the salaried class, and the middle class, and it neither addresses the issue of unemployment nor takes any step to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure for households, Congress MP Amar Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, 6 August.

Initiating the debate on the Finance Bill, the Fatehgarh Sahib MP said it appears 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,” 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 the corporate tax. Who is the government working for?” he asked.

He said the World Inequality Report has revealed that one per cent of the richest people in India have 40 per cent of the wealth, and accused the government of benefitting the higher income groups.

“I want to suggest the finance minister. Around 70 per cent Income Tax Returns have nil tax… Exempt those up to Rs 5 lakh income, it will increase public consumption and reduce poverty,” he said.

He questioned whether the exemptions given by the government to the corporate have generated any jobs.

“The government provides relaxations so that employment is generated. The government should tell how much employment has been generated through these corporate concessions. It's not right that you keep giving concession while no employment is being generated,” he said.

He said the Economic Survey has said India needs to generate an average of nearly 78.5 lakh jobs annually until 2030 in the non-farm sector to cater to the rising workforce.

“We need some relief in this Budget. CRISIL report shows household savings have come down to 18.3 per cent, this is a decadal low… financial liabilities are at all-time high,” he said.

“It means people are facing hardships in day-to-day expenditure. Consumption is not increasing because liabilities are high,” he said.

He also claimed the finance minister said nothing about food inflation which is at 10 per cent.

“Around 50 per cent of the population depends on agriculture, and income through agriculture is 18.4 per cent of the GDP… This means 50 per cent population is surviving on 18 per cent income,” he said.

“This is the reason behind the problems in the agriculture sector, whether it is farmers suicide, or the protests,” he added.

He also questioned what the government was doing on its promise for a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) on crops to farmers who protested against the now-scrapped farm laws.