Budget 2025 expectations: Old tax regime continuation, capital gains tax simplification, reliefs on NPS, crypto, and more: Here's what experts want
Union Budget 2025, anticipation is building across sectors. Personal finance enthusiasts and taxpayers alike are curious about what the Budget proposals will mean for their pockets. For this week’s cover story, we reached out to industry experts, tax professionals and financial advisers to know what they want to see in the Finance Bill 2025.
Some of these expectations, such as a separate deduction for life insurance, lower tax on annuities and higher tax exemption for senior citizens, are longstanding demands and are unlikely to be fulfilled. However, North Block may find some other suggestions worth considering. For instance, one expert has suggested that taxpayers be rewarded with a group life insurance linked to the taxes they pay. As little as 1% of the tax paid by an individual can go into paying the premium of a group insurance cover equal to five times the tax paid.
Another expert has suggested steps that could make the NPS more attractive to investors. The ultra low-cost scheme has everything that one looks for in a pension plan, but it is still not the preferred investment vehicle for retirement planning. Perhaps more tax benefits are needed to push people towards a scheme that can help them retire in comfort.
One key suggestion is the reduction in the TCS on foreign remittances. Two years ago, this was hiked from 5% to 20%, making it very difficult for those wanting to invest, spend or send money abroad. The TCS can be claimed as a refund by filing tax returns. The rule was introduced to ensure that
