Iam speaking about the Budget 2005, presented by Mr.Palaniappan Chidambaram yesterday....it was all gaga here in the campus over the budget....when the budget was finally presented, there were certain sighs of relief and certain sighs of pain....

First the relief part: (Personally)

1. Income tax on Interest on loans for higher education left untouched...which means, I can still claim IT benefit for my interest payments......with a not so small amount as Loan, it would have been a double whammy has Mr.Chidambaram removed that, jus as he did with Sec 88....
2. Investments slab till Rs.1 Lakh to be Tax deductible...this means, I can invest in certain avenues, not because, I will get IT benefit, but because I will get more returns...say for example, if this provision has not come, then even as a risk taking investor, I might have invested in government bonds, because, I get IT benefit...with giving this slab, Chidambaram has opened the doors to Risk taking investors to invest based on their wishes and not because, they will get IT benefit.
3. The previous slabs differentiated between salaries above Rs.5 Lakh and below Rs.5 Lakh...Now there is no slab based on salary...this means that I need not worry about the slab.

Second the Pain part: ( For many too)

1. I need to pay tax on amount more than or equal to Rs.10,000, drawn on a single day from the bank...Withdrawal Tax....think of this.....I pay Tax, when I earn my salary, as Income Tax....then I go to the Bank to deposit it....I pay Banking charges....then for my purposes I withdraw money, Now I need to pay tax....when I spend that money I pay sales tax....so, what is left with me????
2. Housing Loan has been taken off from the IT benefit kitty....Personally I had a plan of utilising this to the hilt...now, it's gone....

But, I should say, atleast Prima Facie, the budget seems to have balanced between the need to carry forward the reforms and to maintain the Leftists... I am not unhappy....