Farmers' stir impacted levy of agricultural cess in Budget: Tax expert

New Delhi, Feb 1 The ongoing farmers' protest had an impact on the Union Budget as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cess for agriculture infrastructure and development, instead of a Covid cess, said Ved Jain, a specialist in direct taxes and former president, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Speaking to on the Union Budget, Jain said an agricultural cess instead of a Covid cess is a matter of political compulsion. "In a democratic set up, I believe economy cannot be absolutely divested from political compulsions. Definitely, this farmers' issue was one of the top agenda and the farmers' agitation is one of the challenges before the country," said Jain.

He said that the farmers' agitation introduced the agriculture cess, but there are indirect taxes and the common man will be paying for it.

"One of the best options

( With inputs from IANS )