Income Tax Exemption Slab Could be Raised Further: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Informs

Indian Military Veterans

“I have no intention of burdening the salaried and middle classes by imposing heavy taxes on them. At the same time, I’m not going to let tax evaders get away. I’m going to bring them into the tax-payers circle,” Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley said.

“Salaried middle class people are paying more in direct taxes. If you ask me, I’d suggest that their direct tax burden should be reduced and if you could ensure that they get their full salaries, they will spend more. You can thus collect the money from them through indirect taxes,” he said.

During the press meet organized by the PTI, he said that one has to encourage measures that increase money circulation among taxpayers. “This will ensure free spending and therefore bring in more revenue through indirect taxes. Both my assistant and I pay indirect taxes. But, since there is a difference in the amount of money that we spend, the amount of tax we pay on it differs. A major portion of the tax paid by us in this country is indirect tax. Taxes like production tax, customs taxes and duties, and service taxes belong to this category.

“In the current financial year, minimum tax slab has been increased from Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 2.5 lakhs. If the revenue to the Government increases, I’m ready to further increase the slab. A person who earns 35,000 to 40,000 per month will not have to pay taxes if he/she chooses certain saving schemes. This is the current status. I don’t believe in the concept that by decreasing the tax slab, one can bring more and more people into the tax-paying class. My intention is not to increase the tax burden on the salaried and the middle-class,” he said.