Modi 2.0 budget: Hike in Petrol, Diesel and surcharge on the super-rich, import duty raised

New Delhi: With the presentation of the Modi 2.0 maiden budget in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the instant effects could be seen in petrol and diesel prices as the fuel price hiked along with a hike in import duty of a dozen of items. The super rich too are being levied with an increased tax as the government seeks to encourage growth through the higher spending.

Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget, said "Those in the highest income brackets need to contribute more to the nation's development" and rightly, this is the very need of the day that the super rich people of the nation contribute towards the progress and development of the rest of the people of the country. Hence, the Finance Minister has hiked the surcharge on the super-rich. Those who earn 2 to 5 crore per anum will now pay 39% tax while the ones earning more than Rs 5 crore income will be liable to pay 42.74%.

In keeping with the slow pace in growth in the tax revenues, further plans to sell the stakes in PSUs has also been announced by the FM. Sitharaman also sought more dividend from the Reserve Bank of India and public sector banks as this will help in boosting the revenue along with also help in slowing down the deficit.

The petrol and diesel prices are to hike by Rs 2 per litre each as the excise duty on the same has been hiked in the new budget. Other than the fuels, other imported goods like gold, automobile parts and even tobacco products too are to get pricier as the import duty on certain valuable items has been hiked.

The Union Minister further lowered the corporate tax on companies who earn revenue up to Rs 400 crore. The corporate tax for such companies is now lowered from 30% to 25%.

An effort to boost 'Make in India' can also be seen in the budget by reducing duties on certain inputs and raw materials.

Also read: Union Budget to Benefit Assam, Northeast: BJP-AGP