When batsmen walk in to play a five-day Test match, they first try to settle in and step up the run rate later.
However, despite the strong man- date for a second five-year term for the Narendra Modi government, finan ce minister Niramala Sithara- man did not have the luxury of pac- ing her innings. So, she got off to a br isk start by taking the looming eco nomic challenges head-on in her ma iden Budget — the first by a wom- an full-time finance minister.
It was an unconventional start, too. For she chose to strike at the rich through an enhanced income tax surcharge on those earning over Rs 2 crore, forcing them to shell out 3-7% more. As a result, a person with taxable in- co me of Rs 2-5 crore will pay 39% tax , while those with over Rs 5 crore earn ings will cough up close to 43%.
The measure, which runs against the presiding orthodoxy of frowning upo n tax hikes, will rake in Rs 12,000 cro re, a yield which the government say s will help fund welfare expendi- tur e. And fortify Modi’s image as a crus ader for ‘Gaon, Garib and Kisan’.
When batsmen walk in to play a five-day Test match, they first try to settle in and step up the run rate later.
However, despite the strong man- date for a second five-year term for the Narendra Modi government, finan ce minister Niramala Sithara- man did not have the luxury of pac- ing her innings. So, she got off to a br isk start by taking the looming eco nomic challenges head-on in her ma iden Budget — the first by a wom- an full-time finance minister.
It was an unconventional start, too. For she chose to strike at the rich through an enhanced income tax surcharge on those earning over Rs 2 crore, forcing them to shell out 3-7% more. As a result, a person with taxable in- co me of Rs 2-5 crore will pay 39% tax , while those with over Rs 5 crore earn ings will cough up close to 43%.
The measure, which runs against the presiding orthodoxy of frowning upo n tax hikes, will rake in Rs 12,000 cro re, a yield which the government say s will help fund welfare expendi- tur e. And fortify Modi’s image as a crus ader for ‘Gaon, Garib and Kisan’.
