Traders demand income tax relief of Rs 10 lakh in upcoming Budget
A meeting of trader representatives was held under the leadership of Bajrang Garg, the national general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vyapar Mandal and state president of the Haryana Vyapar Mandal. After consulting with traders and industrialists, Garg wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, urging them to provide income tax relief of up to Rs 10 lakh in the upcoming Union Budget.
Garg highlighted the rising inflation in the country, which had significantly increased the cost of essential goods. He stated that the current income tax exemption limits were inadequate to meet the needs of the common people. He also proposed capping the maximum income tax rate at 25 per cent, aligning it with the corporate tax rate. Garg emphasised that while corporate entities paid a maximum tax of 25 per cent, the government charged 30 per cent from individuals, which he termed as unfair.
He further criticised the government for repeatedly increasing GST rates and introducing new taxes, which he said were burdening the public and contributing to inflation. To address this, Garg suggested reducing income tax and GST rates. He recommended simplifying GST by reducing its slabs from five to two: a 5 per cent tax on essential goods and a maximum of 15 per cent on general goods.
Garg pointed out that earlier, essential items were taxed at 5 per cent under VAT, but the government now imposed 18 per cent to 28 per cent GST on these, which he deemed unjust. He argued that lowering tax rates would boost trade and industry, reduce the financial burden on the public and eventually increase the government revenue.
Other trader representatives, including state general secretary Hiralal Sharma, urban president Kirti Garg, Sirsa-Fatehabad district incharge Anand Bayani, state vice- president Ramesh Khurana, mobile association coordinator Gaurav Mittal and others, also shared their views during the meeting.
