Union Budget 2020 Analysis by CA S. S. Nayak

An analysis of the Union Budget was presented by Mr S. S. Nayak on Friday February 7, 2020 at Swarna Hall. The Union Budget for the Fiscal Year was presented by the Finance Minister Ms Nirmala Sitharaman of Saturday February 1, 2020 in the Lok Sabha. 

CA S.S. Nayak is a Practising Chartered Accountant in Mangalore for the last 31 years. He completed his CA Articleship from C Agarwal and Co, Mumbai and LLB(Gen) from Mumbai University. Mr. Nayak is an active member of various professional bodies and has delivered numerous expert talks in national as well as international forums. He was an invited speaker at the Muscat Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India on topics of FDI and NRI Taxation. He was also an invited speaker in world famous “AKKA” Sammelana in 2018 held in Dallas, USA.

Mr. Nayak is continuously delivering lectures on “Analysis of Union Budgets” in various forums for the last 2 decades. He is regularly featured in Namma Kudla 24*7 Channel “Business Tonic”, a popular programme for Entrepreneurs on Finance, Taxation, Property and other business matters. His expert views on the topics have been well received across sections of society. He is an active member of many social/professional organizations. He regularly writes columns on Tax and Financial matters in newspapers and magazines. He is also the author of "Words of the Wise" and "More Words of the Wise".

Mr.Nayak hasmentored thousands of MSMEs in the region and has been bestowed with"NITTE-KBL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2018" for his immensecontribution for growth & development of MSMEs at the Nitte-KBL MSMEConclave held at Mangalore in November 2018.

He has also been awarded the "Life Time AchievementAward for mentoring thousands of MSME start ups" at the BCCI-HDFC BankMSME Conclave held at Mumbai in March 2019.

He was awarded the "Samaja Ratna Award" atRajangana Shri Krishna Temple, Udupi in May 2019 for his immense contributionto the society.

Mr SS Nayak began by explaining the salient features of aunion budget and the changes in India’s Budget since 2017. He stated that thedate for presenting the Budget advanced from March to early February, to allowfor discussion on the bill. He also stated that since 2017, the Railway budgethas been incorporated with the Union Budget. He also stated that GST isgoverned by the GST commission and falls outside the purview of the UnionBudget.

Commenting on the features of the Union Budget 2020, hestated that Agriculture, Start ups and MSME sectors have been the main focus, withrevisions made to various benefits. Another significant change is themodification in the tax slab for Income tax, and the option of selecting thepreferred tax scheme. One point to be noted is that where the assessee opts forthe lower tax bracket, he forgoes essential deductions such as HRA, LTA etc.there has also been a change in the criteria for determining OrdinarilyResident in India. This is to ensure all Indians, whether resident or NRI paytax, either in India, or elsewhere. Other features of the Budget include thechange in exemptions to real estate and housing, abolition of DividendDeduction Tax,  auditing and filing ofreturns by Individual, Partnership firms and HUF, capital gains tax, andeducation. A new scheme introduced by the ministry involves local corporationsand municipal bodies hiring fresh engineering graduates for a one yearinternship program.

Mr SS Nayak opined that the present government is aimed atincreasing spending and consumption to give a boost to the economy, rather thansavings. This is depicted in the removal of many standard deductions enjoyed inthe past.