THE ANNUAL BUDGET EXERCISE

India is glued to the TV when there are Cricket matches, election results and for the budget speech by the Finance Minister. While each one of us is an expert when it comes to Cricket with special comments and loads of advice for Indian Captains concerning all the departments of the game, elections come naturally to the “argumentative Indian”, the long winding acrimonious debates are the spice of pre and post election analysis, but when it comes to the budget, despite our focused attention most of us are clueless about the ramifications of this yearly ritual. But that by no means acts as a dampener and we religiously hear every word uttered by the “Kubera”, the mythological God of Wealth, our very own Finance Minister.

The Current and Fiscal account deficits, the FDI and FIIs GST are all terms which we keep hearing all the time but don’t understand and yet we are all ears. The only major thing which interests a salaried middle class person is the Income Tax slabs, as that pinches directly, even after exhausting all possible tax saving options one ends up coughing out minimum three months equivalent of the annual gross pay package… that hurts and hurts bad. The indirect taxes also effect us but the impact is not felt immediately and is thus more subdued. There are expectations each year that this time the salaried middle class will get its due attention, the only class of people which are brutally honest tax compliant (they have no choice!), in an otherwise non tax compliant nation, as admitted by the man who controls the purse strings himself.

In the past there have been honest Finance ministers, Yashwant Sinha for example who did admit that “middle class does not vote and hence they don’t count for much”, even though they contribute a lot by being the largest consumers thus driving the growth in the economy and of course filling up the empty coffers by the TDS ( Tax deducted at Source). In India we have been blessed with Finance Minsters who were as clueless as the general pubic is about finances, Charan Singh for example decided to put even bathing soaps in the luxury goods (!). But since Dr Manmohan Singh assumed the mantle as the Finance Minster in 1991 Narsimha Rao govt and bailed us out of the looming debt crisis, by and large the portfolio has been handled by more professional parliamentarians.

The other thing which interests most of us is the cost of daily use items, such as smartphones, refrigerators, TVs, cars and two wheelers, rail fare and so on.

Finance minsters or their babus have a knack of camouflaging taxes as surcharges and levies which somehow become a permanent fixture, at least I haven’t heard of any of them being repealed once introduced. Despite all this jugglery the assets and liabilities are balanced rather precariously with the threat of Damocles sword of Fed rate hike or oil price hike omnipresent to leave things in a mess.

Our domestic finances on the contrary are pretty well managed with the purse strings strictly controlled by the ladies, with no profligacy and with adequate caution, we have been managing to sail through year after year for the three decades in my case and I am sure same is the case with most of us. I wonder why nobody has ever thought of this brilliant idea as yet, is the PM listening ;). He did listen probably and appointed Niramala ji, but things haven’t improved much, I wonder!!! May be the RBI Governor or the Finance Secretary or both may be entrusted to them…then …….

Original Comments:

Sheraz Varma (2021-02-01):
You touched the raw nerve… income tax. 3 Rs of every ten-ner earned. Blimey,it sure hurts. Hum honge kaamyaab eekk dinnnn, man mrin hai vishwas … aka Jaane bhi do yaaro.

Shiv (2021-02-01):
Spot on Suyash. Alarmed at your financial awareness and prudence. Dint know this side of your personality. Compliments

Akshaya Handa (2021-02-01):
This comment has been removed by the author.

Akshaya Handa (2021-02-01):
Listening to the budget or its analysis is like attending a havan. The panditji is reciting something in Sanskrit – a language we understand less the workings of the universe – but are still as immersed in the recital as if life after death will depend on it. Not surprisingly, just like we love to repeat sawah ha with the panditji and claim havan accomplished – people sprinkle their conversation with budgetary terminologies as if everything has been understood. Often with enough confidence as if their understanding will raise or drop the GDP, GNP, GST or which ever P.
Better to follow Rancho's teachings
All is well

Vinod Shanker (2021-02-01):
Chronologically explained the suspension of bitter pill time and again, covering almost all the period. Nostalgic recount, keep it up

Ashutosh Tewari (2021-02-01):
The color of her saree or the Modi coat of the fin secy also count towards good fiscal policy. Wonder why the hell it's suffixed with a budget. Should have been opportunity or planner or something. Budget by itself is restricting. It's not expansive and more affluent n dynamic. Maybe it is to do just that if buds-to-get

Sanjay (2021-02-01):

Raj Jagga (2021-02-01):
Everyone waits, no one understands, economy keeps moving with Indian jugaad…baki, All is well…well mused..

kamlesh (2021-02-01):
Wow Sir..every word applicable even today as in Feb 2017 when you had penned it..so true..interesting reading

Sunil V Damle (2021-02-01):
The problem with IT in India is not that it is charged, but that only a miniscule number of citizens pay it – that's what hurts the most

Sofie (2021-02-01):
Nice job Suyash…only a few yrs left of tax payment as a salaried employee…Jai Ho!

Munendra Gupta (2021-02-01):
High time the middle class decides to play truant and starts asserting itself instead of getting quagmired into the nuances of tax saving options. The annual budget exercise is a spectacular program of hopes raised and quashed. Great writeup once again Sir, you've touched the raw nerve !!

Patanjali Puri (2021-02-01):
Well said, Suyash. As valid today as it was when you penned this down some four years back.

Satish Mallik (2021-02-01):
Was wondering at the speed of your blogging till I read your message and saw it in the heading that this was penned in 2017. And you’re absolutely right nothing has changed. This blog probably will be good for many budget days in years to come. Probably the only change this year was that the FM didn’t have to lead a convoy of trucks carrying tomes of budget to the Parliament, she only had a tablet to accompany. But that was hardly of any interest to the tax paying middle class. For them nothing changes.

Amit Tripathi (2021-02-01):
Wonderfully explained Suyash. Uncanny foresight in understanding of Budget, be at national level or at home front.
You are touching the raw nerves and funny bones of your readers simultaneously, an onerous task, in an easy way.
Keep rocking.

Yadvendar sood (2021-02-01):
So relevant n your expertise in handling financial aspect touched the senstive nerve.stay blessed always look fwd to ur insights

Yadvendar sood (2021-02-01):
Well in profile pic mistook mam for sitharaman.. another surprise dear.. well have always loved her presentation too.

VM (2021-02-01):
Prophecy of yore still stands tall…
Happy penning

Bubesh (2021-02-01):
Ha ha…
Nothing changes…
The salaried Middle class……, gets the least from the budget, understands the least……but watches the budget speech and discusses the budget most passionately..

Amit (2021-02-01):
Well said Suyash! But this was argued to be the most important budget since 1991 and you say nothing new in it for us salaried mortals! How could you miss the most visible departure from the past that this was a digital budget (Satish has alluded to this change) that befits a digital India! And you are asking for trouble by talking of the past FM as 'honest' – he is persona-non-grata in the current political scenario!

aarkey (2021-02-01):
You earn 100
Pay 30 Tax
Consumption of 70
Less 10 GST
assume 60 Rs consumed
Out of which there is a net profit of about 10% which Govt again taxes at 25 % so another 2.5% less from
So 57.5% & 42.5% is the split of your earnings between consumption and taxes

Go figure

Unknown (2021-02-01):
Well articulated

Unknown (2021-02-01):
Suyash
We may be paying 40 to 50 % of our earnings in taxes if we add up the direct and indirect taxes.

The revenue targets are omnipresent and all pervasive in the capitalist world we live in.

Let's keep enjoying the bliss of ignorance and stay happy.

Kalyan Pitre (2021-02-01):
The more you know about the budget the more it contributes to your ill health . Best is to listen stoically and forget the whole thing . Blame it on middle class woes !!

Ps : Well written as usual …!!

V Pramod Kumar (2021-02-01):
Interesting. This article written in 2017 hold good for this year's budget.,, . Nothing much has changed.

Kedar Thaakar (2021-02-02):
Beautiful….some things just don't change…. very well observed and narrated too…. Keep blogging.

Samir Dhaga (2021-02-02):
Super .

M Udayana Reddy (2021-02-02):
Suyash – nice write up and though from 2017, still so very much applicable to every budget we wait for. Lately, at least this year, seems that most of the middle class have not even bothered to listen to the FMs speech unlike in the past years and have tuned in only in the late evening to listen to the summary and applicable takeaways for us in the EOD news discussions. Nice thought provoking note by you. Always a pleasure to read your blog

Unknown (2021-03-16):
well Articulated Sir… nothing has changed for the middle class. Government is still exploring ways and means to take out more from our purse before the Strings are tied.

Unknown (2022-02-01):
Incom tax is really a nightmare for all the salaried persons

Sanjay (2022-02-01):
National budget making exercise ka HALWA miss kar gay is baar Suyash. I for one & many pre diabetics of our age would highly appreciate & visualise the halwa making, halwa distribution & Halwa consumption exercise. Wonder if it is distriboted equitably or on pro- rata basis, who gets the Lion's share….But spot on and timely…. Agli kitab kab nikaal rahe ho… Regards Sanjay

Vipul Segan (2022-02-01):
Very captivating. Very true.
I think the middle class has become totally disinterested in budget now. The aspirations of middle class are rarely met. Every little penny is being taxed.

Sandeep Malik (2022-02-02):
Another fabulous blog, Suyash. Do keep us informed and entertained. Cheers.

THE ANNUAL BUDGET EXERCISE

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