Interim Budget 2019 Reaction - Mr. Arun Thukral, MD & CEO, Axis Securities

"Middle-Class tax-payers including salaried and pensioners are here to see some 'Acche Din' owing to tax sops announced in the Interim Budget 2019 and which came in over and above the expectations. The Govt. has proposed a tax rebate on the income up to Rs. 5 lakh meaning that taxpayers earning up to Rs 5 lakh will be exempted from paying taxes but will have to file returns without fail to claim the same. Other taxpayers get an increase in standard deduction to Rs 50,000/-. There will be no TDS on house rent up to Rs. 2.4 lakhs and also no TDS on the bank, post office interest up to Rs. 40,000 (earlier Rs. 10,000) a relief particularly for senior citizens. To sum it up, the government has rightly addressed the broadest segment of society -the middle-class taxpayer in this Interim Budget. In the entire endeavor, the FM managed to please the debt market by containing the target current account deficit to 2.5% for FY19 and fiscal deficit to 3.4% for both FY19 and FY20. Overall, the finance minister gave a road map and vision for next 10 years where he would like to take the economy, reducing hassles of the taxpayers and going digital thereby reducing the personal interface between taxpayer and tax officers. Overall, the budget struck a chord with almost all the segments of the society."