Will Raje budget offer freebies?

JAIPUR: Smarting under the double whammy of increase in service tax and discontent of not getting any hike in income-tax exemption in the Union budget, the disappointed middle-class is looking for some respite from the state budget, which would be announced on Monday by chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who also holds the finance portfolio.
Even as states don't have powers like the Centre that can directly alleviate the tax burden on the incomes and expenses, there is enough elbow room for them to provide the masses a shelter from the price rise that the service tax would entail.
"Let alone acche din, the Narendra Modi-government made our lives worse than earlier by raising the service tax to 14%. This tax will again go up by 2% because of the Swachh Bharat cess. Additionally, there is no increase in I-T exemption limit. Given this background, it becomes more important for the state government to ease the burden on the middle-class," said Sanjay Dubey, a primary school teacher.
Dubey said the government's steep increase in power tariff last month will severely impact the household budgets and force many of us to adopt cutbacks on many things. "The chief minister should compensate that by providing relief in other areas," added Dubey.
Rajasthan budget can provide relief by reducing VAT and it can be done starting with petrol and diesel. The fuel has been decentralized and the prices have already come down by half in the international markets, but all the benefits have not been passed on to the consumers.
"Now is the time when the government can show that it cares the well-being of the people. From next year onwards, there will be the implementation of goods and services tax which will be uniform across the country leaving no powers with the state to play around. That's why it is an opportunity for the state to reduce tax on petrol and diesel and demonstrate that the government is for the people," said Abhisekh Mishra, a chartered accountant.
Moreover, Mishra said that the government can reduce VAT on lot of items which can bring down the cost of living, neutralizing the upward price pressure from the increased service tax.
On its part, the industry said about 30,000 engineering students pass out every year from institutes in Rajasthan and they need jobs.
"Manufacturing has the potential to absorb a large number of work-force. Like 'Make in India', the state should also promote manufacturing under a theme like 'Make in Rajasthan.' A cluster approach is need of the hour as it can speed up project implementation by eliminating a number of constraints. A single approval for a cluster will benefit large number of business units at one stroke. This can generate a lot of new jobs," said Nitin Gupta, head, CII-Rajasthan.
While presenting the full-fledged budget last year, Raje had presented a roadmap for the next four years and during the course of the year had framed new policies for various sectors.
While there has been some action in some sectors, industry sources felt that things have remained the same and no change is visible on the ground. "Implementation is the key and hope the government takes up this on priority," added an entrepreneur.