CONFEDERATION PRESS RELEASE ON THE UNION BUDGET
CONFEDERATION SECRETRY GENERAL ISSUED A PRESS STATEMENT EXPOSING THE RETROGRADE CHARACTER OF THIRD BUDGET CONSECUTIVELY PRESENTED BY HON'BLE PRANAB MUKHERJEE UNION FINANCE MNISTER
PRESS STATEMENT
26th February, 2010
Union Budget presented by the Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee today is totally disappointing in so far as common people and especially the workers are concerned. The Finance Minister has allowed tax concessions to the extent of Rs. 26,000 crores under Direct taxes and decided to garner additional revenue of Rs. 46500 crores from indirect taxes including service taxes. The share of Service taxes is to the tune of Rs. 3000 crores. He has proposed to raise the excise duty by 2% across the board. Most of the concessions in the indirect taxes come in the form of customs duty on imports.
The increase in the revenue resources from indirect taxation has been made on the specious plea that the global economic recession has turned the corner and the Indian economy is poised for 8% growth. For sustaining the growth in the economy, the common has to be burdened further and the rich to be spared of taxation, seems to be the ideology of the Finance Minister. Due to the unprecedented rise in prices of essential commodities especially food items, the common man is made to bear the brunt and nothing has been proposed by the Finance Minister to help him out. Due to the proposed increase in the excise duty on petroleum products and rolling back the concession offered earlier as part of the stimulus package, there would be further increase in the prices of all essential commodities injecting further inflation.
In the case of salaried tax payers, the Finance Minister has not thought it necessary to increase the non taxable maximum, whereas he has offered concession in the rate structure of those tax payers who are in higher income bracket of Rs. 3 lakhs and above. While those in the income bracket of Rs. 3 lakhs and 8 lakhs would be enjoying a lesser tax burden, even the unskilled workers would be drawn into the ambit of income tax liability for the minimum taxation limit has been pegged down to what it was in 2009-10 For no valid reason, the standard deduction available to the salaried tax payers was withdrawn in 2005. The repeated pleas made by the workers year after year have gone into the deaf ears of the Finance Minister. The deduction was not restored whereas such deduction continue to be made available to other category of tax payers.
In the situation in which the workers are placed presently, there is no alternative to organizing united and militant struggles to force the Government to withdraw taxation proposals that inflicts unbearable burden on people at the lower strata of the society.
K.K.N. Kutty
Secretary General.
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K.Ragavendran
Secretary General NFPE
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RAISE YOUR VOICE OF PROTEST AGAINST THE RETROGRADE NEW TAX CODE
UNION BUDGET HAS BEEN PRESENTED TODAY BY HON'BLE MINISTER OF FINANCE
INCOME TAX PROPOSALS ARE HARD HITTING AGAINST THE LOW SALARIED EMPLOYEES AND WORKERS - NEW INCOME TAX CODE IS TO BE IMPLEMENTED FROM 1.4.2010
Employees with an annual income of 1,60,000 alone are exempted from Income Tax - Over and above the amount, 10% Income Tax will be charged upto the ceiling of 5,00,000 annual income. The only minor change the Hon'ble Finance Minister has made to the earlier proposals of New Tax Code is that instead of 3,00,000 ceiling 5,00,000 ceiling is fixed for 10% Tax Bracket. This means even the lowly paid workers and employees in the Central Government Departments will have to pay tax of 10% above their annual income of 1,60,000/-. Even though the 20,000 infrastructural investment is exempted from tax over and above the savings of 1,00,00, We know that the poorly paid employees have no scope of savings from within their meagre income. Middle Class employees of Central Government Services are attracted to more taxation after the 6th CPC and this tax code only trying to extract tax from them.
On the other hand the Tax Relief to the higher bureacracy is very striking! The Finance Minister has said that 60% of tax payers would be benefited! yes - High wage earning top IAS line Officers are given a big relief by reducing their tax level by bringing their income upto 8 lakhs into 10% and 20% brackets and only over and above 8 lakhs income would invite 30% tax from now on. This is really a tax relief budget for high income group and hard hitting one for the low wage earning employees and middle class employees.
ON'BLE FINANCE MINISTER HAS TAKEN CREDIT FOR SUCCESSFULLY WEATHERING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IN INDIA - But his announcement that disinvestment to the tune of 25,000 Crores would be done clearly shows that the Government did not assimilate the reasons for the relatively less impact of financial crisis on Indian Economy. All know very well that the existence of strong public sector financial institutions alone saved India from the depth of crisis but the disinvestment proposals clearly show that the Government has not taken the lessons of international crisis properly and succumbing to the pressures of neo-liberal forces.
Corporate world has welcomed the budget and it is only expected as the present budget is mainly a welcome relief to the corporate world!
The problem of price rise is alarming and the budget speech of Hon'ble FM only express hope that prices would come down! We are not able to understand any comprehensive steps contemplated by the Union Budget to control the prices. On the other hand the rise in cost of petrol and diesel coming effect from tonight itself is alarming! This will only escalate price rise and inflation further. The enhancing of central excise will also lead to further price rise. The lip-sympathy shown in the Presidential Speech against the price rise remains only on paper and the budget is working for increasing further inflation.
Let us raise our voice clearly and loudly - Hold Demonstrations as per the call of the Confederation of CG Employees & Workers on 10th March 2010 demanding modification of retrograde tax code; dropping of PFRDA Bill aiming privatisation of pension; and against the alarming price rise.
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K.Ragavendran
Secretary General NFPE
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