FM certainly lacked clarity of thoughts while reading Budget 2020
Similar to last year budget, this year’s budget was also packaged very well. It not only misled the public but also goofed up the deliverables which they were expecting. The budget had no major highlights and one could see Government leaders tapping the desk just because PM did. The budget had made changes in income tax slab rates for individuals. But remind you, these slab are available only if the taxpayer forgoes all his exemptions and deductions including the Benefit of self-occupied house. When read between the lines, Finance Bill 2020 was nothing more than the confusion which the Finance Minister has created due to lack of clarity. The launching of Study In India Program was something I am not able to digest when the youngster who are born and studied in India are unemployed. The quality of education is so poor that citizens itself are not getting jobs and we are discussing about imparting same education to others. The self-defined parameters of success were something which has become very normal with this government. The finance minister was beaming with enough pride when she announced that no tax harassment shall be accepted. But as a Chartered Accountant myself, I really feel that was the last thing she would have said. Either she is unaware of ground realities or she pretended to portray that everything was ok.
As a member of Chartered Accountant Fraternity I could sense from her body language that she does not want any middleman in between them and taxpayers. But the truth is that even after doing away of 70 exemptions/deductions the law remains so complicated that taxpayer cannot do without the help of professionals. The way Finance Minister applauded doing away with tax audit for certain categories of taxpayers with a condition that they shall carry 95% of their business in cash less mode, was a big misfit which she did. The taxpayer would prefer to work in cash and save lakhs of taxes against the few thousand which he pays to a CA for audit.
FM certainly lacked clarity of thoughts while reading Budget 2020
In today’s time where Indian businesses are going through chaos of compliances, tax terrorism, highest level of corruption and moreover inspector raj, it was expected that like a middle class house lady, FM would also wash all these away. But unfortunately budget speech was absolutely reverse and it seemed that FM wanted to square off the matter without going into the details. We wished that there would have been more clarity towards the future of business in India which to my mind as of now it seems to be blurry.
