S Sadasivam, a 72-year-old Coimbatore resident, is a retired civil engineer who served with BHEL and Chennai Port Trust.
Sadasivam, an avid follower of politics, looks forward to the Budget, particularly to know about the tax benefits and also to get an idea of the country’s progress. He says, “While in service, I felt cheated whenever the increase in ceiling on income exempt from tax turned out to be paltry or nil.”
Seeking a rise in the limits this time around, he adds, “My expectation is that the income tax exemption limit should be increased considerably for persons of age between 70 and 80.” Sadasivam too, like many other senior citizens, is vexed with having to submit form 15H to claim exemption from TDS on bank deposits and wants this to be dispensed with.
Friendly approach must
Regarding tax saving bank deposits, he says, “the lock-in period of five years should be reduced to one year for senior citizens.”
Going by the property dealings of his family members, Sadasivam feels some of the provisions of capital gains tax are draconian.
Sadasivam also wants tax breaks, up to specified amounts, on expenses such as medical and travel based on self-declaration. Health insurance cover, he feels, should not have age limits so that senior citizens can have adequate protection. He wants an assurance from the Finance Minister that the income tax department will be friendly in its approach towards senior citizens. Filing of income tax returns could be simplified, he says, based on self-declaration and self-assessment.
Also, inadvertent errors should not invite serious follow-up action. Sadasivam wants the Budget to provide ample funding to educational and research institutions to carry out quality research in irrigation, agriculture, health, space and defence sectors.
Infra push
He also wants big-ticket funding for infrastructure projects such as interlinking of rivers, inland water navigation, roads, railways, irrigation and harbours.
Sadasivam says, “If I were the Finance Minister, I would merge the Railway Budget with the general one, and present an objective Budget without false promises and devoid of appeasement of narrow-minded parochial and regional forces.”
This article was originally published in The Hindu Business Line on on February 22, 2015
