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Budget....
Taking off from where he left off in his interim budgetary exercise for 2009-10, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday sought to inject an adequate dose of sops for the urban middle class and blend it with a massive fiscal stimulus and rural spending programme to spur the country’s economic growth on to a higher trajectory.
He has tried to appease salaried class by raising the basic personal tax exemption limit marginally by Rs. 10,000 (15,000 for senior citizens), abolishing the 10 per cent surcharge on higher income and abolishing the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT). This higher exemption limits and removal of surcharge on the higher salaried class would provide some, if not huge, relief to income tax payers.
Further, it has also increased the deduction under section 80-DD in respect of maintenance, including medical treatment, of a dependent who is a person with severe disability to Rs 1 lakh from the present limit of Rs 75,000..
He promised to simplify tax returns by coming out with a direct taxes code within 45 days for discussion to introduce a bill in the winter session of Parliament. Changes in direct taxes are revenue neutral.
In case of higher salaried class above Rs 10 lakh for whom the 10 per cent surcharge has been removed, the benefit would be much higher. Thus, those with an annual income of Rs 15 lakh stand to gain Rs 37,596, while individuals having an annual income of Rs 1 crore would now be able to save Rs 3 lakh. But none of the Government employees falls in these category
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