Take from the rich and give to the poor. This aptly sums up the latest Union budget which has focused on the farming sector in order to counter Rahul Gandhi’s tag of being a 'Suit-boot Sarkar'.
And the rich will have to dole out more in the form of taxation to provide for the allowances in the new scheme of things. Those with an annual taxable income of over Rs 1 crore will now pay a tax of 35.5%. Earlier, it was 34.6%.
Those who earn Rs 10 lakh or more in the form of dividends per anum will now have to pay dividend tax of 10%. And finally, those who purchase cars in excess of Rs 10 lakh will have to shell out 4.5% extra taxes.
However, taxation on automobiles has been increased across the board. For example, those purchasing a Maruti Alto will also have to shell out Rs 3000-5000 more.
The government clearly seems to have set the Rs 10 lakh figure as a benchmark for classifying those who can afford certain things and those who cannot. This will naturally be open to debate.
Having said that, how feasible is it to expect perfection in an imperfect world, especially when it comes to economics?
