Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley on Sunday demanded that the Income Tax ceiling be raised from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh, which he claimed would benefit thirty million people.

“Direct Tax should be reduced. If the Income Tax limit is raised from Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs, 3 crore people will save Rs. 24 crore which will lead to a small impact of 1 to 1.5 per cent of the National Tax Fund,” the BJP leader said.

Mr. Jaitley claimed that the Vajpayee government kept the rate of interest at 7 to 8 per cent, which Congress-led UPA raised to 13-14 per cent. “Due to this, trade and industry are running under a loss and closing down, and production has become costly.” That was why countries like China and Thailand were moving ahead of India.

“The savings of Rs. 24 crore in the pockets of ordinary person by reducing the ceiling on Income Tax will lead to increased purchase, which in turn will lead to increased VAT and Excise Duty, thereby increasing revenue,” Mr. Jaitley said.

Speaking on Amritsar’s development, Mr. Jaitley said the economy of the constituency was dependent on tourists and small businesses.