Freebies should be sustainable, governments must not put a burden on future generations: FM Sitharaman
freebies offered by governments, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in an interview said that such a promise should be sustainable and prove to be a burden on future generations.
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“You (political parties) may probably justify giving a freebie today. In a public position, who is answerable to taxpayers, you have to be clear that collecting tax from someone and giving it to somebody else, however deserving that person may be, should be sustainable,” Sitharaman told TOI in an interview a day after presenting the Union Budget 2024.
Sitharaman stressed that a government should be able to generate “adequate” revenue from providing primary requirements of a society like drinking water, electricity, primary health and education.
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Sitharaman said that people should take the benefit of something being given for free; however, it is the government’s responsibility to ensure the scheme does not adversely affect other taxpayers.
“You have to be honest in ensuring that you don’t borrow left, right, and centre and leave a generation on the future generation,” she said.
Sitharaman on Karnataka government’s schemes
The Congress government came to power in Karnataka on the back of five promises including cash transfers, and free bus rides for women, among other
