Traders, consumers welcome IT relief

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement that there would be no income tax for income up to ₹12 lakh has been largely welcomed by traders and consumer organisations in Tiruchi.

Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangankalin Peramaippu expressed happiness over the Finance Minister’s announcement and the increase in time limit for filing returns to four years.

In a statement, Ve.Govindarajalu, State general secretary, also appreciated the move to simplify the Income Tax Act and proposals on introducing customised credit cards for micro enterprises and the importance given to education, health and artificial intelligence.

It is, however, regrettable that the traders demand for doing away with the 18% GST on rent payable for commercial establishments and the lack of allocation for major projects such as the metro rail in Tamil Nadu, he said.

S.Pusphavanam, Secretary, Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu, observed that the move to raise the bar for income tax has provided a “much anticipated great relief to the middle class.”

“The move will spur more savings and domestic investment which will ultimately result in higher GDP growth and poverty reduction. The Finance Minister deserves our praise for this break-through,” he said. However, she could have focused on plugging loopholes in tax collection.

GST collections may cross ₹ 25 lakh crore during the 2025-2026 financial year, he claimed and added that it called for concessions on GST for insurance of all kind, restoration of fare concession for senior citizens in Railways and reduction in the LIC premium by half, Mr.Pusphavanam said.

The move to exempt 36 life-saving drugs from basic customs duty will benefit all. Increasing the intake of IITs and creation of 10,000 additional medical seats are steps n the right direction.

However, the merger of the Railway and Union budgets has resulted in a lack of transparency as there is no information on the allocation to Railways, Mr.Pusphavanam observed.

The former Vice-Principal of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Medical College M.A.Aleem welcomed the launch of Cancer Daycare Centres in all district hospitals. They would be very useful to handle the growing number of cancer patients in each district, Dr.Aleem observed.

The initiative to promoted medical tourism will help attract patients to avail the for cost effective treatment in India. The increase in medical seats will help expand medical education and rural health care, he said and welcomed the moves to extend healthcare for gig workers and better nutritional care for kids and pregnant mothers.