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@Evening: 📖 Our Reading Of The Union Budget 2023
✔️ Swarajya's budget 2023 review
Swarajya editorial director R Jagannathan has said the Union budget is conveying "five significant signals."
Ordinary taxpayers are invited to think beyond tax deductions.
The new tax regime will become the default one. But, you have the choice to stick to the old regime.
In the new regime, you will get fewer tax breaks, but it will be much easier to comply with.
No tax for incomes up to Rs 7 lakh per annum, up from the earlier Rs 5 lakh tax-free level.
Tax savings on earnings up to Rs 15 lakh will be 20-25 per cent of earlier levels.
Tax-saving investments will now become more purposeful.
Businesses built purely on the USP of tax savings will find it tougher to sell their products.
Now, people will buy life or medical insurance or invest in a pension product only if they think they need one.
Term insurance products may score over high premium or unit-linked insurance policies, which would be a good outcome.
More jobs and higher incomes to reinforce consumption and growth, on the back of massive capital expenditure outlay.
A 33 per cent jump over 2022-23 to Rs 10 lakh crore means that the budget’s total capex is now 4.5 per cent of the GDP.
This means the government wants to induce the private sector to start investing in expansion...
… and ordinary folks to start spending as the incomes coming in from these capex spends trickle down to the citizens.
The government is protecting India from the global slowdown by boosting domestic investment and consumption.
Keeping reforms sensible and steady. Case in point: capital gains tax.
The widely expected reform of the capital gains tax regime did not come through.
But it makes sense, given the general uncertainties that accompany the global economic outlook.
Lowering of the exemption limit on capital gains from the sale of residential houses under sections 54 and 54F to Rs 10 crore only affects the sale of luxury homes.
The government isn't kite-flying with these budget numbers.
India is looking at least 6 per cent GDP growth.
The borrowing programme is modest, at just over Rs 15.4 lakh crore.
Disinvestment targets are a believable Rs 51,000 crore.
Tax receipts are expected to grow by 12 per cent — not significantly higher than nominal growth.
The relatively low outlay for the MGNREGA jobs programme suggests that the bet is on jobs growth and rural revival to reduce demand for artificial job safety nets.
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