Budget 2023: What the Middle class expects

Already struggling with the higher cost of living, the country's middle class, which is defined as those earning between Rs. 2.5 lakh and Rs. 20 lakh per annum is calling for tax relief to support their economic well-being.

The tax rate for individuals has not been changed since FY2017-18 and the ‘New Tax Regime’ announced in 2020. Therefore, middle-class want Budget 2023 to make changes to the slab rates for individuals to reduce the tax burden.

Another demand of the middle class is to move tuition fees of children to a separate provision from the Section 80C deductions, which already covers a lot of other investments/expenses and has a limit of just Rs. 1.5 Lakhs.

Along with this, there is also a long-standing demand to increase the deduction for Health Insurance under section 80D from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000.

Given that the Indian economy is slowly recovering from impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which also led to wide-spread job losses, the middle class is calling for job creation measures to also be a key focus of the Union Budget.