India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the union budget 2022-23 in the parliament on February 01.
One of the most keenly awaited announcements in the union budget every year is related to personal taxation. In every budget income tax rates and slabs are reviewed. However, the income tax slabs have not been changed since 2014. Will Sitharaman change the slabs and give relief to taxpayers in the budget on Tuesday?
Major steps towards simplification and rationalisation of the income tax regime are also expected in this year’s budget.
In the Budget 2020-21, around 70 exemptions and deductions of different nature were removed. The finance minister had announced that the “remaining exemptions and deductions will be reviewed and rationalised in the coming years with a view to further simplifying the tax system and lowering the tax rate.” In the 2021-22 Budget the finance minister did not make any significant change in the income tax rates or slabs.
“Although the Government has taken several measures to resolve tax disputes and overhaul the tax dispute resolution framework over the past few years, further measures in this regard may help in reducing litigation. Rationalisation of TDS and TCS provisions to ease compliance burdens will also be welcome,” said Rajeev Dimri, Partner and National Head of Tax, KPMG in India.
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As per the leading healthcare providers in the country in the private sector, the government should also consider continuation of tax incentives, upgradation of medical facilities in smaller towns and skilling of workforce in the budget.
“The government had rightly placed health and well-being as the first of the six pillars in the Union Budget 2021 and the focus must continue in 2022 too. Firstly, the outlay for healthcare infrastructure to be increased further…Facilities in tier 2-3 towns need to be equipped with diagnosis centres, ventilators, ICUs, critical care facilities and oxygen plants,” Fortis Healthcare MD and CEO Ashutosh Raghuvanshi noted.
There is an urgent need to allocate a separate budget for a national campaign around preventive health, testing and screening as these are key to reducing the overall disease burden in India, he added.
“Healthcare should be accorded priority status so that the sector can derive benefit from the GST transition and providers and healthcare service delivery institutions can avail loans at lower rates and extended tenure. It is also essential that the government reduces duty and cess for critical care and life saving equipment and drugs to reduce costs for both providers and patients,” Raghuvanshi said.
Apollo Hospitals Group Executive Vice Chairperson Preetha Reddy said the immediate priorities must include taking up public expenditure on health to at least 3 per cent of GDP, a concerted thrust on encouraging investments that bridge gaps in infrastructure and resources and also efforts to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies.
“These actions are pivotal building blocks of an Atmanirbhar healthcare ecosystem. Also, more than ever before, at this point in time, the people of India are looking to the Union Budget 2022-23 to chart a transformational course in nurturing good health for all and also to be able to access best in class healthcare at all times,” she stated.
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Apollo Hospitals Group Joint Managing Director Sangita Reddy said that the pandemic has shown the potential of India to become a global centre for R&D in drugs and vaccines.
“Tax incentives should also be extended to R&D as this would encourage further innovation in healthcare. Another key area that the budget needs to address is skilling of healthcare workers. This will help to address the manpower challenge that we face and bring India up to par with the recommended ratio in terms of trained doctors and nurses,” she added.
Asia Healthcare Holdings Executive Chairman Vishal Bali said the multiple waves of the pandemic have exposed India’s demand ? supply gap in healthcare across infrastructure, people, technology.
“Budget’ 2022 must remain focused on increased allocation to the healthcare sector and fast track the bridging of the gap. Public healthcare spending on healthcare needs urgent reform and a clear allocation of 2.5 per cent of GDP in real terms and not under a consolidation of allocations to various schemes and departments related to health and sanitation,” he noted.
Indian Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), textile, and tourism industry, and citizens shared their expectations ahead of the federal budget presentation for the financial year 2022-23.
Corporates and industry lobby groups, which expect bigger capital expenditure as the government looks to create jobs, also seek tax breaks for industries such as automobiles, manufacturing and tourism, hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The MSMEs asked to focus more on manufacturing in the budget, while the mammoth textile industry of its hub, Surat, is hoping for multiple issues to be addressed.
India increased the GST applicable on finished products such as apparel, textiles, and footwear from 5 percent to 12 percent, however, it rolled back the order after severe backlash.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the GST in 2017, and replaced more than a dozen federal and state levies and unifying a $2 trillion economy and 1.3 billion people into one of the world’s biggest common markets.
However, the regime had faced a lot of criticism and has ignited some of the largest protests by the traders since then.
Passengers are hoping from more trains and affordable journeys from the rail budget this year.
While the tourism industry, which suffered the most during the coronavirus pandemic, is also hoping for a special package to power its revival.
(With inputs from agencies)
Source: Thanks WIONews.com