Budget '08 - What do you want from our FM?

[sydras]

Hi all,

Since the budget is fast approaching, I guess we all have some expectations from our FM for the coming fiscal year. Please post your expectations on the upcoming budget. It need not be purely related to tech products. Normal, expectations of the middle class or salaried individuals can rightfully be included.

Let's keep our fingers crossed. Something good may come our way :hap2: .

 

[Pat]

Reduce the tax burden on salaried people

 

[Nikhil]

I want the money collected to be ACTUALLY used for the benefit of the people.

 

[sydras]

Reduce the tax burden on salaried people

I'm working for the govt for 2 months .

 

[Saiyan]

OT: speaking of the budget, waiting for the sensex to go up

apart from that it would be nice if the tax is reduced on the electronics items

 

[Rahul]

please make some good roads with the tax which we give .....

 

[6pack]

first and foremost - dont add any new tax!

the 30% tax slab should be revised to ppl who get above 25lacs per year.

20% for between 10- 25lacs

5% for 6-10 lacs instead of current 10%

tax free for ppl getting below 6 lacs/yr.

inflation is too high - indirectly adding to the burden of lower middle income group.

prices of commodities has to be reduced.

do away with octroi in states where its still applied. we dont want this double taxation to continue. if states are so greedy that they cant manage their finances the centre should manage the finances of those states.

 

[digital_brain]

tax reduced on imported musical instrument

 

[sydras]

first and foremost - dont add any new tax!
the 30% tax slab should be revised to ppl who get above 25lacs per year.
20% for between 10- 25lacs
5% for 6-10 lacs instead of current 10%
tax free for ppl getting below 6 lacs/yr.

inflation is too high - indirectly adding to the burden of lower middle income group.
prices of commodities has to be reduced.
do away with octroi in states where its still applied. we dont want this double taxation to continue. if states are so greedy that they cant manage their finances the centre should manage the finances of those states.

Good points esp. about the double taxation part. There could be a counter-argument to the tax slabs stated though. Right now, the FM is trying to contain inflation. Less tax on salaried people would meen they have more money to spend which in turn would increase inflation as there would be more money chasing the same no.of goods.

I believe the FM should increase the exemption on savings from 1 lakh to something like 2 lakh. This would
a> suck excess liquidity from the system
b> people would invest for their future
c> people would be less dissatisfied i.e. if they can't spend their money, at least it's not leaving them for good.
d> the govt could benefit and get much needed money for projects if people invested in their schemes.

I have to say though that I'm shocked at the apathy of previous budgets towards helping people who are actually investing in the govt(looks like they have no confidence in themselves). All the good schemes, i.e. tax saving RBI bonds etc are all removed. All all govt schemes today give very low interest vs even banks.

Serious tax relief for senior citizens is another thing I personally would like to see. We need to help our elders live their golden years in the least misery possible.

 

[6pack]

atleast bring prices of housing down! who in their right mind can think of buying a house in a city for 25 - 50 lacs if they only get less than 5 lacs a yr and that too is taxed by the govt? no matter how much one saves the prices of home just double and triple every year. builders and bankers make hay while poor people die! the current rate at which prices for house increases, i'll never be able to afford even a one room flat in mumbai after 50 years even though i get 3-4 lacs/yr.

 

[sydras]

I feel your pain buddy. A no.of my friends are just going in loops about buying a house. Land prices are so high I feel it should be regulated in some sort of way like in the communist countries .

 

[sydras]

it would be nice if the tax is reduced on the electronics items

Odd thing is, I keep hearing year after year that duties have been reduced. Still, niche imported items are costlier by about 30-40% :S .

 

[G@d of w@r]

heavy taxes on hukkas and alcohol??

 

[Sourav]

Remove that 1 lakh limit for savings man, that's just pure nonsense :no:. And, please oh please, put all our taxes to good use. Don't just gobble them up for your selfish benefits

 

[random2]

Duties -

Remove that weired CVD. Its as if, 'Hey, he is getting away for free so charge him something!!' kind of duty. Maybe keep the edu cess of 2% and please please spend it for edu needs. US has a very good method of spending H1 Visa fee, maybe we should learn from it.

Direct taxes -

Though I would like more exemptions on savings, Im not sure there will be anything more. I think I would be happy if its not reduced.

The main thing is no matter what is in the budget, unless things are spent and work delivered in the right way nothing is going to improve. Our problems are not in planning but in implementation.

 

[nukeu666]

please make some good roads with the tax which we give .....

roads are rebuilt a lot in mumbai
only problem its the brandnew and good roads that are rebuilt :no:

 

[Udit]

lower internet costs

 

[Pat]

first and foremost - dont add any new tax!
the 30% tax slab should be revised to ppl who get above 25lacs per year.
20% for between 10- 25lacs
5% for 6-10 lacs instead of current 10%
tax free for ppl getting below 6 lacs/yr.

inflation is too high - indirectly adding to the burden of lower middle income group.
prices of commodities has to be reduced.
do away with octroi in states where its still applied. we dont want this double taxation to continue. if states are so greedy that they cant manage their finances the centre should manage the finances of those states.

LMAO Thats not going to happen in another 100 years ! Haha!

 

[sydras]

heavy taxes on hukkas and alcohol??

Alcohol and cigarettes are famous whipping boys of all govts. They get dearer every year. IMO, it does more harm than good. People in India esp. youngsters view alcohol as something to over indulge in. High pricing just makes it that much more desirable.

Instead of increasing taxation on all alcohol drinks as a whole, it would be better if moderation in drinking is emphasized and wine and lesser popular beverages are promoted. It's becoming so costly to drink anything but beer ...and I don't want a pot belly.

I don't smoke so I can't comment on cigarettes.

 

[6pack]

^^ +1. increasing costs does not do any good anyway. wine is costlier i think.

best would be for the govt to bring moderation in their spending behaviour.

cleanup their act - remove corruption as much as possible.

and i think edu cess is currently at 3%, isn't it?

one q: what does the govt do with the foreign reserves they have currently built up in billions of dollars? isn't it idiotic? i mean if the us dollar was to reduce one fine day to not even worth the paper its printed on, what good will those billions do? can't they use atleast 5-10% of it on infrastructure development?