Gone are the days when Indian middle class would switch on their TV sets in late evening on the budget day and try to calculate the gains and losses against Income tax slabs applicable to respective income groups.Over the years the poor electorate specially the struggling middle class and younger generation has reconciled to the fact that it may be a decade or two before we can be prosperous and advanced like some of the richer Asian/European countries. Chasing a dream of work Visa in Western country or job in oil rich nations is the only silver lining which younger generation can look up to after years of academic hard work . The glamorous life of young men with Mercedes and Audi and glamorous parties in farm houses are for blue blooded scions of builders and land mafia only.Hence there may not be much fun in calculating  the impact of Govt budgets from the tit bits offered.

Being a reflection of the ongoing trends in the Society, today the presentation of budget ( broadcast live in almost all cases) is reminiscent of  an exercise in marketing of a new product. The bitter pills are now a days not only sugar coated but also wrapped in silver foil and sometimes touted as acts of patriotism.The customer has to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The financial statements meant for public have been traditionally  compared to Bikni which is expected to reveal everything except the vital information. The continuously emerging political challenges and fears of loss in vote banks have given rise to a trend  for financial management focussed on camouflaging the gains and losses.

Over the years in the exercise for tax management, the middle class, which bears the burden of running the economy has been blessed by the various Governments with tax gains of inconsequential nature which are much hyped and blown out of proportion.Whenever some unwelcome adjustments are to be sold to the tax payers/vote banks the total figures of jump in collection are repeatedly trumpeted, (whereas individual taxpayer is concerned only with his individual gains and losses).

In earlier times the Budgets also had liberal sprinkling of  of literary or humorous  contents when the Finance Ministers (FM) would indulge into some funny anecdotes or Urdu Shairi before pushing through some major changes in rates of certain commonly used items.The literary content seems to have gone out of fashion in favour of  patriotic/jingoist vocabulary.Blaming all the bad things on Governments of past lightens the burden on hearts of ruling classes while making the electorate feel guilty for having given reins of power to such catastrophic conglomerates .

While presenting the budget the proposals for reduction into Excise duties used to be focussed on items, such as cosmetics and bindi and kajal which the FMs thought would improve their ratings in the eyes of mothers and sisters without causing dent in revenue collections . The hike earlier traditionally used to be for favourite items of bad boys such as liquor and tobacco but these two industries have also woken up to the vulnerability and appear to be doing more philanthropic work viz. sponsoring sports events and social events. So now the taxman is back to favourite shortcut of milking the middle class while simultaneously dangling tax concessions which can generally be harnessed by honest man only after cutting out all luxuries from the domestic budget.Everyone has to tighten belts for ensuring that savings get channelised to some respectable banks and insurance companies .

The middle class should also appreciate that there is no need to be overtly distressed for the assessment procedures are set to get “Modernised” moreover nowadays for the taxpayer there is also option for subscribing to so many charities of all nature. These contributions would take care of bovines or devotees reportedly engaged in welfare of humanity.For such generosity while the taxpayer would get concessions in tax liability, it may also ensure happiness in after life for the donor taxpayers   .