Mint Quick Edit | Tax cuts are in high demand

As many as 57% of individual taxpayers want finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lower taxes in the budget, according to a sample-survey carried out by Grant Thornton Bharat. Encouragingly for the government, 72% of those surveyed say they have shifted to the new tax regime, with lower rates but no document-based deductions, although 63% of individual taxpayers want stronger incentives under the old tax regime. To make the new system more attractive, about 46% want lower tax rates, while 26% seek a higher basic exemption limit. Throw in woes like persistently high inflation and the neglect felt by India’s mid-slab earners is easy to grasp, especially since the poor are getting increasing handouts.