No Income Tax till Rs7 lakhs  – Budget 2023

NewsGate Press Network

The finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget for the year 2023 has announced the much awaited tax rebate on income tax to Rs 7 lakhs giving relief to a large number of tax payers.

Following are the highlights for Budget 2023-24:

PART A

• Per capita income has more than doubled to ₹1.97 lakh in around nine years.
• Indian economy has increased in size from being 10th to 5th largest in the world in the past nine years.
• EPFO membership has more than doubled to 27 crore.
• 7,400 crore digital payments of ₹126 lakh crore has taken place through UPI in 2022.
• 11.7 crore household toilets constructed under Swachh Bharat Mission.
• 9.6 crore LPG connections provided under Ujjwala.
• 220 crore covid vaccination of 102 crore persons.
• 47.8 crore PM Jan Dhan bank accounts.
• Insurance cover for 44.6 crore persons under PM Suraksha Bima and PM Jeevan Jyoti Yojana.
• Cash transfer of ₹2.2 lakh crore to over 11.4 crore farmers under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.
• Seven priorities of the budget ‘Saptarishi’ are inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector.

• Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program with an outlay of ₹2200 crore to be launched to boost availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high value horticultural crops.
• 157 new nursing colleges to be established in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014.

• Centre to recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, serving 3.5 lakh tribal students over the next three years.

To commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a one-time new small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate to be launched. It will offer deposit facility upto Rs 2 lakh in the name of women or girls for tenure of 2 years (up to March 2025) at fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option.

• The maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Account Scheme to be enhanced from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for single account and from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for joint account.
• Revised Estimates 2022-23:
• The total receipts other than borrowings is Rs 24.3 lakh crore, of which the net tax receipts are Rs 20.9 lakh crore.
• The total expenditure is Rs 41.9 lakh crore, of which the capital expenditure is about Rs 7.3 lakh crore.
• The fiscal deficit is 6.4 per cent of GDP, adhering to the Budget Estimate.

• Budget Estimates 2023-24:

• The total receipts other than borrowings is estimated at Rs 27.2 lakh crore and the total expenditure is estimated at Rs 45 lakh crore.
• The net tax receipts are estimated at Rs 23.3 lakh crore.
• The fiscal deficit is estimated to be 5.9 per cent of GDP.
• To finance the fiscal deficit in 2023-24, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs 11.8 lakh crore.
• The gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 15.4 lakh crore.

PART – B

DIRECT TAXES

• Direct Tax proposals aim to maintain continuity and stability of taxation, further simplify and rationalise various provisions to reduce the compliance burden, promote the entrepreneurial spirit and provide tax relief to citizens.
• Constant endeavour of the Income Tax Department to improve Tax Payers Services by making compliance easy and smooth.
• To further improve tax payer services, proposal to roll out a next-generation Common IT Return Form for tax payer convenience, along with plans to strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism.
• Rebate limit of Personal Income Tax to be increased to Rs. 7 lakh from the current Rs. 5 lakh in the new tax regime. Thus, persons in the new tax regime, with income up to Rs. 7 lakh to not pay any tax.
• Tax structure in new personal income tax regime, introduced in 2020 with six income slabs, to change by reducing the number of slabs to five and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs. 3 lakh. Change to provide major relief to all tax payers in the new regime.

New tax rates

• Proposal to extend the benefit of standard deduction of Rs. 50,000 to salaried individual, and deduction from family pension up to Rs. 15,000, in the new tax regime.
• Highest surcharge rate to reduce from 37 per cent to 25 per cent in the new tax regime. This to further result in reduction of the maximum personal income tax rate to 39 per cent.
• The limit for tax exemption on leave encashment on retirement of non-government salaried employees to increase to Rs. 25 lakh.