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Income tax exemption, combined with GST reforms, will result in savings of Rs 2.5 lakh crore: PM Modi
Narendra Modi says that the poor and neo middle-class are benefiting from income tax relaxation and upcoming GST reforms. The income tax exemption up to Rs 12 lakh was announced in the Union budget. The new GST rates are set to roll out from September 22. Modi highlights that this combined effect will save citizens over Rs 2.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the poor and the 'neo middle-class' have received a double bonanza within a year following the relaxation of income tax up to Rs 12 lakh, which was announced during the Union budget in February, and the new Goods and Services Tax reforms that are set to roll out from September 22.
"This year, the government presented a gift by making income up to Rs 12 lakh tax-free and naturally, when income tax relief up to Rs 12 lakh is granted, the lives of the middle class undergo a profound transformation, bringing about so much simplicity and convenience...Now, the poor, the neo-middle class, and the middle class are receiving a double bonanza. With the reduction in GST, it will be easier for the citizens of the country to fulfil their dreams," the prime minister said.
Addressing the nation on the eve of the new GST rates, Modi said that the income tax exemption, combined with the new indirect slabs will result in people saving more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore yearly.
"We are moving forward by following the mantra of 'Nagrik Devo Bhava' and we can see its reflection in the next generation's GST reforms. If we combine the income tax exemption and the GST exemption, the decisions made in one year will save the people of the country more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore and that's why I say, this is a savings festival," Modi said.
Modi added that 25 crore people had come out of poverty in the last 11 years, who are now the 'neo middle-class' with aspirations and dreams of their own.
"In the last eleven years, 25 crore people in the country have defeated poverty. Having emerged from poverty, a large group of 25 crore people, known as the neo-middle class, is playing a significant role in the country today. This neo-middle class has its own aspirations and dreams.
PM Modi slams previous tax regime
When India embarked on GST reform in 2017, it marked the beginning of changing an old history and creating a new one, he said. "For decades, our country's people and our country's traders were entangled in a web of various taxes. Octroi, entry tax, sales tax, excise, VAT, service tax—dozens of such taxes existed in our country. To send goods from one city to another, we had to cross countless checkpoints..."Modi said that daily essentials, medicines, and insurance will become cheaper under the new GST tax reform.
The government had earlier announced GST rate cuts on September 4, covering a wide range of products -- from automobiles to daily consumer items.
This marks the biggest indirect tax reform since the Goods and Services Tax was rolled out in July 2017.
The new system, often called GST 2.0, introduces a two-slab structure of 5 per cent and 18 per cent, with an additional 40 per cent rate only for super luxury, sin and demerit goods.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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