Budget 2024 expectations: 8 expectations of salaried, individual taxpayers from FM Nirmala Sitharaman today

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Budget 2024 today, July 23. As the third term of the Modi government begins with a less decisive electoral mandate, there is growing speculation that reducing income tax could be a strategic move for the ruling party in navigating the current political and economic landscape. Acknowledging the significant role played by salaried individuals in contributing to direct tax collections, the government is under pressure to address their concerns as the Budget announcement approaches.

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Let us take a look at some of the expectations salaried and individual taxpayers have from Budget 2024 today.

Budget 2024 expectations: Changes to new income tax regime

The new concessional personal tax regime aims to provide lower tax rates for individual taxpayers compared to the old tax regime. However, most commonly availed deductions and exemptions for salaried individuals have been removed. To make the new tax regime more attractive, it's essential to retain benefits like exemption for House Rent Allowance, interest paid on housing loan, deduction for employee’s contribution to PF, health insurance, etc. Retaining these key aspects from the old tax regime in Budget 2024 can encourage investments and tax planning by salaried individuals.

Hike standard deduction for salaried taxpayers

The standard deduction for salaried individuals was reintroduced in Budget 2018 at Rs 40,000 and increased to Rs 50,000 from April 1, 2020. There have been