Covid-19 pandemic-hit middle class families kept their eyes glued to their television screens as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget 2021-22 on Monday morning, but many said that they had expected more from the government.
In this year's budget, the government has emphasized more on healthcare, infrastructure and other sectors, while providing no particular relief to middle class in terms of income tax exemption.
Besides this, taxpayers were definitely left disappointed as the Union Finance Minister did not announce any change in income tax slabs for them in the much-awaited Union Budget announced during an undeniably tough year.
Homemakers were not content with the announcements. "Since my husband is the only earning member of the family, no relief on his income tax will not only affect my kitchen, but also the education of my children," said Jalandhar-based Tina Mehta.
Another homemaker said that she did not like the budget. "The government should have made things cheaper at these tough times. Ration and home appliances are getting costlier day by day," said Kavita Sharma.
Another Ludhiana-based telecom expert said that the government should have been given some kind of stimulus to the sector.
Harpreet Singh, a retired government officer, said: "There is no change in the income tax slab. No income tax return filing for super senior citizens is, however, a big relief. This government's budget was never satisfactory since the time it came to power."
A recent graduate, who is now looking for job, said that the government has stretched itself quite a bit given the current situation. "Fiscal prudence was not a very vital criterion right now and the government could borrow to invest more in order to kick start the economy. The economy needs more," said Inderpreet Kaur.
Another Manisha Shrivastava, who runs a BPO in Delhi, said that the budget did not help much. "This is a tough time and people do not have disposal income. The government should have taken into consideration the high premiums that are there in the insurance sector. The budget is good in some aspects but I think that it needed more."