Without drastically raising taxes, govt has simplified taxation, benefiting middle class: Nirmala Sitharaman in Finance Bill reply
Nirmala Sitharaman replied to the discussion on the Finance Bill in Lok Sabha on August 7.
The passage of the Finance Bill by Parliament completes the budget process. The Appropriation Bill for the central government's expenditure for 2024-25 was passed by the House on Monday.
Without drastically increasing taxes, the govt has brought in simplified taxation regime and eased compliance, the FM said.
The middle class benefitted from various tax proposals in budgets brought by Modi government, she said.
Effective tax on annual income of Rs 15 lakh was reduced to 10% in 2023 and further reduced this year as well under new I-T regime, Sitharaman noted, adding that pending litigation and demands sorted under Vivad se Vishwas scheme helped middle class and small businesses.
The Finance minister further said that increasing LTCG tax exemption limit to Rs 1.25 lakh from Rs 1 lakh will help middle class invest in the stock market.
The customs duty cut on labour intensive leather and textile sectors will promote trade and employment, the Finance minister remarked.
On I-T returns, Sitharaman pointed out that the average processing time of income tax returns has reduced from 93 days in 2013 to 10 days now.
7,754 tax appeals will be withdrawn from various judicial fora due to upward revision of monetary limit for filing appeals, the minister informed the Lok Sabha.
The finance minister presented the Union Budget for 2024-25 on July 23, targeting a fiscal deficit of 4.9% of GDP, with a goal to reduce it below 4.5% by
