Union Budget 2024: Shashi Tharoor welcomes proposal to abolish angel tax

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says the Union Budget lacks steps to improve income of common citizens. PTI

Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor termed the Union Budget 2024 as "underwhelming" but welcomed the proposal to abolish the angel tax and claimed that he had recommended former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley five years ago to take the step.

"It is an underwhelming budget. I didn't hear anything about the key issues facing the common man. There is no mention of MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005), and insufficient mention of steps taken to improve the income of a common person. I welcome only one provision, which is abolishing of tax on angel investors. I had recommended it to Arun Jaitley more than five years ago," Tharoor told ANI on Tuesday.

He also said "far too little" was seen in addressing income disparity, and added that only a "token gesture" was made on job creation in the Union Budget 2024.

On Tuesday, Sitharaman proposed to abolish the angel tax for all classes of investors in the Union Budget 2024. Angel tax refers to the income tax levied on the funding raised by unlisted companies or startups if their valuation exceeds the company's fair market value. This contentious tax typically impacts angel investment the most, and therefore, is called the angel tax.

There were demands from the industry to abolish the tax for a long time, and Tuesday's announcement is likely to drive more investments, particularly towards startups, which play a key role in economic growth by generating new jobs, ideas, products, and services.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (Uddhav BalasahebThackeray) Member of Parliament (MP) Priyanka Chaturvedi has accused the Government for ignoring Maharashtra in the Union Budget 2024.

"I think this budget should be called PM Sarkaar Bachao Yojana because they have realised if they want to save this Government for the next five years, they would need their alliance partners to be happy. After denying a special status to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, they have given them funds. Maharashtra continues to be ignored by the Centre. It has become a state where you keep taking in money from," she said.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said, "I understand the political compulsions of catering to the demands of their alliance partners from Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. They have also taken some elements from our manifesto, especially the apprentice scheme. They also announce many new schemes."