Tax relief proposed for middle class
Tuesday, 23 JULY 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Two key highlights of the Modi-3 government’s first budget are income tax relief for the middle class and Rs two lakh crore outlay for job creation schemes over the next five years. Moreover, with rural populace moving away from the BJP leading to significant decimation of its parliamentary strength, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman provided Rs 2.66 lakh crore for rural development while maintaining spending on long-term infrastructure projects at Rs 11.11 lakh crore to boost economic growth.
Further, she abolished ‘angel tax’ for all classes of investors in startups, cut customs duty on mobile phones and gold and simplified capital gains tax. She stated that the budget is focused on employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class.
She raised standard deduction — a flat deduction from total salary earned by an employee in a year before calculating applicable income tax rate — by 50 per cent to Rs 75,000 and tweaked tax slabs for taxpayers opting for the new income tax regime.
This would lead to taxpayers under the new tax regime — which offers lower rates of taxes but permits limited deductions and exemptions — saving up to Rs 17,500 in tax annually, she said.
