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Lower Tax, Interest Rate, Healthcare: 10 Things India Wants Its New Fin Min to Address in Budget 2019

People, who commented on the online forum seeking suggestions for the budget, have wished that minimum exemption for income tax purposes be raised to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 3 lakh at present.

File photo of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (Image: PTI)

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With India’s first woman finance minister in the run up to present her maiden budget here are the major demands from the country across sectors:

Lower tax rates: After the Donald Trump administration in the US reduced corporate tax rates from 30 per cent to 21 per cent, there has been a clamour for similar steps in India.

Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) Issues: For the corporates, there are suggestions that the DDT be reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.

Personal tax: People, who commented on the online forum seeking suggestions for the budget, have wished that minimum exemption for income tax purposes be raised to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 3 lakh at present.

Rs 2 lakh cash limit: Industry bodies have demanded that the government’s rule that prohibits cash transactions above Rs 2 lakh should be modified to exclude Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) from its ambit.

Land reforms: Industry groups have asked for sweeping land reforms in India that allows for land aggregation and private sector investment in agriculture.

Export incentives: While India’s export industry hasn’t performed empathetically, there are suggestions to provide enhanced incentives to boost the export sector.

Interest rates: While the common man has asked for higher interest rates for savings accounts, representatives of financial sector have also made similar demands.

Agriculture sector: Representatives of the agricultural sector have suggested ways to boost income.

Healthcare: While many common citizens have asked for tax exemptions on healthcare for the elderly, industry bodies like FICCI have made some radical suggestions, including raising tax exemption on preventive health check-ups from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000.

Education: Some common-man demands include regulation of private school fees and other arbitrary fees imposed by higher educational institutions in the private sector.

Source: News18