Every One In Four Indians Fear Threat Of Layoffs; Expect Tax Policies To Bring Relief, Reveals Study

With layoffs in 2023 turning into a growing trend bringing despair to many employees, a recent study points toward the intensity of the concern. Recently a firm published a survey conducted amongst a sample population of 1,892 consumers aged between 21-55 years across 12 key Indian cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Indore, Patna, and Jaipur from December 15, 2022, to January 15, 2023.

The study revealed that every one in four Indians are concerned about the threat of a job layoff dangling above their heads. Adding to the concerns is the rising inflation, from which consumers hope to get relief through tax regulations. On a macroeconomic level, a good share of the population is optimistic about government measures that could bring about a positive economic change. However, there still lies a sense of indefiniteness among the salaried class.

Expectations From Union Budget

A survey conducted by the marketing data and analytics firm Kantar revealed that every one in four Indians is concerned about the trend of job layoffs. Out of the same population, three out of four were worried about the impact of the rising inflation, but half of them believe that the country's economy would grow by 2023. With this expectation, they hope the second edition of the India Union Budget will come with announcements of policy changes concerning income tax and introduce decisive measures to tackle the massive impact of layoffs and recession.

The most commonly noted expectation was that of increasing the basic income tax exemption limit from the current ₹2.5 lakhs. Followed by this was their suggestion to increase the threshold limit of the highest tax slab rate of 30 per cent (from the current ₹10 lakh.) The former request was notably higher among the salaried population with about 42 per cent. Meanwhile the latter was expected by businessmen/self-employed population (37 per cent) and the older population of 36-55 year-olds (42 per cent). Two-thirds of the population also wanted an increase in the tax rebate for investments under 80C.

Global Economic Slowdowns & Layoff Trends

Majority of the population credited the global economic slowdown and a potential resurgence of the pandemic as their key concerns. While consumers hope that the worst of it is over, they understand that the pandemic still poses a concern and expect the budget to continue placing its focus on healthcare.

Kantar Executive Managing Director of South Asia, Insights Division, Deepender Rana, stated that "Indians are largely positive about the macroeconomic performance of the country in 2023. Belief in the India growth story amongst older and affluent class is quite strong." On the macroeconomic level, about 50 per cent of them are positive that the Indian economy will grow, as opposed to the 31 per cent who believe there will be a slowdown. This optimistic notion is prevalently seen in non-metros as compared to metropolitan cities.

According to a report by The Hindu, a good majority expect the government to play the role of a protector and take effective measures to curb inflation and prevent the economy from slipping into a deeper recession. In conclusion, as always, consumers are looking forward to some fork of relief in the income tax regulations and a middle-class-friendly Budget.

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