Budget 2015: Raise tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh, says advertising professional

Rising cost of living particularly in the cities have not only scaled down savings but also truncated disposable income.

For advertising professionals Srijoyee Ghosh and Sanhita Ghosh in Bengaluru routine expenses eat into much of their salaries.

“Major chunk of our expenses actually go in our rent which is Rs 14,000. Once you cut that out of the salary there is electricity, then there is commuting. So when you bring it all together it becomes really expensive because you are just left with a handful of money to do your personal things… like if you want to go shopping or hang out with friends… any of that or internet bills, phone bills…. So by the end of it you are really left with nothing to bank on,” Srijoyee told CNN-IBN.

A little over 25 percent Srijoyee’s monthly income goes into savings and after paying all expenses that leaves little disposable income in their hands.

Sanhita felt that commuting in luxury is not an option for her given the cost angle.

“First thing first and it’s commute. So when I am late for office and I would love to take an auto for work. But when i check my pocket, it’s like I have to take a bus now,” she said. “Even the prices of vegetables are high even if we split the costs,” Sanhita said.

The last Union Budget brought cheers to people when the tax exemption limit was raised from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh. If Finance Minister Arun Jaitley raises the limit to Rs 3 lakh this time around, it would help two crore professionals.

“This would help youngsters like us who have just started working to have some disposable income plus some savings for the future,” Srijoyee said.