Delhiites Hail Tax Relief Up To ₹12-L Income

The Union Budget presented on Saturday and its most talked-about takeaway, a big tax break for the middle class, brought cheer to a wide swathe of Delhiites and triggered the possibility that the big-bang announcement could move the needle in the upcoming assembly elections in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

- Snehil Sinha and Aheli Das

NEW DELHI:

From teachers and IT professionals to bank employees and doctors—a huge chunk of Delhi's middle-class hailed the budget's announcement that no tax will be levied on income up to ₹12 lakh under the new tax regime.

"The 'ache din' of the middle-class begins now. The salaried class will spend this money on small luxuries—holidays, shopping, eating out—and that's good for the economy," said Manoj Varshney, who runs a travel agency in Delhi.

Importantly, some citizens said the tax break will likely have an impact on the assembly elections scheduled in four days. "The BJP's core voters are the middle-class, and a lot of them are Gen Z and millennial, who I believe will show up in big numbers to vote after this move. There may not be a big shift in loyalty, but the turnout should be better," said Varshney.