Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune news service

Shimla, February 29

The Union Budget has come as disappointment to middle class and salaried people who were expecting hike in the Income Tax limit and other concessions.The income tax rates were not revised last year. This year again, no relief has been given which defies logic. Recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission will be implemented during this year. The hopes of the salaried class have been dashed as salaries of employees would on an average go up by 23 per cent and the employees would have to pay a heavy tax on account of pay hike, Col Joshi (retd) said.The Finance Minister should have at least raised the limit to neutralize the impact of hike in salary and pension by raising the income tax limit and reducing tax rates, he added.The Budget is disappointing and the increase in service tax and taxing Provident Fund withdrawals was a cruel joke with the employees and retired persons, state Employees and Pensioners Associations leaders said.The cumulative burden on the employees and pensioners on account of these proposals would be massive and the Budget is also silent on the interest rates of fixed deposits of retired persons, who are losing the monthly income due cut in lending rates.On the one hand, the government is squeezing the incomes of retired persons and on the other, bleeding them by imposing more taxes, the employee leaders lamented. President HPSEB union Hira Lal said that employees were disappointed as tax exemption limit had not been raised and suggested that the tax slabs should have linkage with inflation. The increase in service tax and tax on PF withdrawal were totally unjustified as there was no justification on charging tax on drawing money from your own savings, he said.Prof Aparna Negi said making provision of funds to pursue higher education was welcome as there was a vast majority of deserving students who were unable to pursue the technical and higher studies due to lack of funds.College teacher Joginder Saklani said that neither the tax exemption slab had been increased nor any policy guidelines announced for converting the contract jobs into regular jobs.Shimla Beopar Mandal president Inderjeet Singh welcomed the decision to keep the shops open 24X7 (on all week days) based on the concepts of shopping malls. “We had already been urging the state government for the same and the announcement in the union Budget has come as a big relief for shopkeepers”, he said.