Honest tax-payers will still be burdened: ASSOCHAM

ASSOCHAM General Secretary D. S. Rawat said that with all the hype about lenient taxation and investment policies, the budget was unable to live up to expectations.

"A lot was said during the presentation of the Economic Survey on Tuesday about promoting investments. This budget does not mention any such thing, and therefore, investment rates will continue to be slow," Rawat told ANI.

With regards to taxation, Rawat expressed his dismay over the limited policies that have been suggested on Income tax, both personal and corporate. "With so much being said on income tax threshold limits, we expected no tax deduction on any amount less than Rs. 5, 00, 000 and relief on any amount above that," Rawat added.

Despite the shortcomings of the budget, Rawat believes that the Agriculture sector has been given a boost, which will help in generating employment in that sector. It will ensure SMEs a place in the global market, he added.

The Narendra Modi Govt., led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, presented the General Budget 2017-18 to the parliament today. For the first time, the Union Budget and Rail Budget were merged and presented.