New Delhi [India], February 1 : Taking a dig at the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha on Saturday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that to benefit from tax exemption, one actually needs an income source.
Speaking to ANI, Shashi Tharoor said that unemployment was not mentioned by the Finance Minister.
"I think, frankly, the applause you heard from the BJP benches was for the middle-class tax cut. We look at the details and that may be a good thing. So if you have a salary, you may be paying less tax. But the important question is, what happens if we don't have a salary?" Tharoor questioned.
"Where is the income going to come from? For you to benefit from income tax relief, you actually need jobs. Unemployment was not mentioned by the Finance Minister. Ironic that the party that wants one nation, one election is actually using each election in each state each year to give them more freebies. They may as well have multiple elections so they can get more applause from their allies," the Congress MP added.
This comes after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her Union Budget 2025 speech, announced that no income tax will be payable on income up to Rs 12 lakh, providing significant relief to taxpayers, especially the middle class.
This limit will be Rs 12.75 lakh for salaried taxpayers, counting Rs 75,000 of the standard deduction. She also stated that the new income tax regime will be simpler, with a special focus on benefiting the middle class.
But there is a catch: the exemption can be earned only if a taxpayer takes relief under various sections of the Income Tax Act, like the Rs 1.5 lakh exemption under section 80CCC and the exemption of Rs 1.5 lakh for paying interest on home loans.
Sitharaman said, "To taxpayers, up to Rs 12 lakh of normal income (other than special rate income such as capital gains) tax rebate is being provided in addition to the benefit due to slab rate reduction in such a manner that there is no tax payable by them."
The announcement by the Finance Minister of this big relief to the middle class was met by loud thumping of the desks by the treasury benches led by PM Narendra Modi.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha was adjourned on Saturday following the presentation of the Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The House will reconvene on February 3 at 11 a.m.