Govt should’ve revoked passports of super-rich leaving India: SJM

“Many people are leaving the country due to various reasons, saying we will work in some other country because tax rates are high here,” Mahajan said.SJM co-convenor Ashwami Mahajan noted that the Union Budget 2023-24, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Wednesday, proposed to reduce the income tax rate from the current 42.74 per cent to 39 per cent applicable on high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) in a bid to stop them from leaving the country. The government has proposed to provide relief to this segment of tax payers in a bid to stop them from leaving the country, he said.

The co-convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) said the government should not let these high-net-worth individuals, who have left the country due to the tax rate applicable on them, return to India ever.

“India has to be taken on the path of progress. We do not have to make such people a part of India’s growth story,” he added.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Budget for 2023-24, said the government has made the new income tax regime more attractive for taxpayers bringing “substantial changes” in its structure for the benefit of the middle class.

According to the changes proposed in the Budget, no tax would be levied on people with an annual income of up to ₹7 lakh under the new tax regime but it made no changes for those who continue in the old regime that provides for tax exemptions and deductions on investments and expenses such as house rent allowance.

“So, a taxpayer who claims deductions less than ₹3.75 lakh while filing the annual I-T returns will be advised to opt for the new tax regime as declared in the Budget. They will stand to benefit by enjoying the reduced tax slab as stated in the Budget,” the officer said.