New Tax Policy for India by Narendra Modi shocks citizens

Indian Government released a new tax policy for Indian Citizens and it has shocked the citizens. The tax policy released as part of the financial year of 2020-21 budget. The proposal includes the taxation changes for the expatriates living in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia.

The new proposed changes recommend that Indian citizens living 240 days out of India are considered non-resident Indians. This is compared to 182 days previously. “In the Income Tax Act earlier an Indian citizen stayed out of the country for more than 182 days, he would become a non-resident. Now we’ve made some changes, according to which to become a non-resident one has to stay out of the country for 240 days,” said Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey in a statement carried by news agency ANI. (Source: Saudi Gazette, 2020)

This has caused great worry for the people living outside India. It also means that they might have to visit their home for a shorter time period compare to before. But the finance minister mentioned that people earning less than RS1.5 million ($21,000) a year could pay fewer taxes. The current exemptions from expenses include medical insurance, vacation spending and other small spends.

“Wealth creators will be respected in this country … and this government assures taxpayers they will not be harassed,” she said in her second budget speech since Modi won landslide re-election last May.