After the impact of the coronavirus contracted the economy in the past two quarters, Prime Minister Narendra modiThe government wants to increase spending on highway, port and pipeline projects in the next fiscal year to revive businesses and create jobs.
BJP feels that while the poor received free rations and businesses obtained state-guaranteed loans and other concessions, the economy will benefit from reducing the tax bill for the poor. means, medium class with more generous standard deductions.
“The middle-income group is feeling a lot of trouble and they need some support,” said Gopal Krishna Agarwal, who handles communication and coordination of economic affairs for the BJP.
“Encouraging consumption would also help the industry,” Agarwal told Reuters, days after meeting with the finance minister to discuss budget suggestions from party members. “I can say that the budget will take care of the middle class.”
The government classifies more than 300 million of India’s population of 1.35 billion among middle-class consumers.
Finance Ministry spokesman Rajesh Malhotra said no ministry official would comment on the budget for the new fiscal year, which begins in April, until the document is released in Parliament February 1.
Another proposal is to increase depreciation allowances on items such as cars, plant machinery and consumer durables such as refrigerators to increase consumption and lower tax expenditures for companies, Agarwal added.
For small and medium-sized companies, the government could also seek to reduce import tariffs on some raw materials such as copper and base metals.
“Raw material costs are rising not because of demand but because of supply constraints for consuming industries, and they are asking for some relief,” Agarwal said.
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