Congress
Leaders requested Finance Minister to raise Income tax exemption Limit to Rs.4
lakhs in the budget 2013-14
In a pre-budget meeting with Finance
Minister P Chidambaram here on Thursday, Congress leaders have asked the UPA
government to increase the taxable income exemption limit to Rs 4 lakh from the
current Rs 2 lakh, while suggesting a pro-people budget with sops for the
middle class and farmers keeping the upcoming elections in mind.
The meeting was held at the Congress
party headquarters. With the rise in fuel prices impacting the ‘aam aadmi’, the
meeting saw suggestions for varied pricing of petrol, diesel and cooking gas
for people living below poverty line and low income group.
Senior party leader Oscar Fernandes
suggested there was a need to bring down the dependence on petroleum import and
more focus on having alternative sources of energy like ethanol, sources said.
Fernandes also wanted the government to reduce tax on bidis, noting that
employment levels were coming down in the labour-intensive sector due to
current tax slab.
Congress leader Jagdish Tytler
suggested that the budget should be formulated in a way that helps the party to
connect with people as elections were ahead, sources said.
AICC Secretary P Sudhakar Reddy
mooted raising the tax exemption limit of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh, which was
endorsed by many other office bearers.
He also advised linking Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme with agriculture to help meet
the shortage of farm labour in the sector, besides offering three-year
interest-free loans to small farmers for their children’s education.
Suggestions were also made by party
leaders for gender budgeting. Reddy advised the Finance Minister that female
assessees could be given higher tax exemption limit.
There were also demands by many
leaders for bringing more clarity on the service tax as it was being interpreted
differently in various states.
Minority Department Chairman Imran
Kidwai demanded increase in outlay of the Minority Affairs Ministry and
allocation of more funds to minority institutions. He also advised formulation
of special scheme for Most Backward Classes for their financial inclusion.
Senior party leader Ajit Jogi
complained that central funds were being diverted in many non-congress ruled
states by the respective governments, suggesting some mechanism should be
developed to check this, “The finance minister told us what are the
difficulties and how the Indian economy was kept at a balance despite the tough
global economic scenario. Thirty-two of the 46 office bearers present spoke on
various issues related to farmers, weavers, education, health and income tax,”
party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters after the meeting.
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