Budget 2015: No change in income tax slabs; mediclaim exemption limit hiked to Rs 25000

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Feb 28, 2015:  Presenting Union Budget 2015-16 in Parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday announced that the rate of corporate tax would be reduced to 25 percent from 30 percent over the next four years.

The FM further said there would be no change in income tax slabs for individual tax payers.

Reading out the Budget speech, Jaitley said that the state of the country’s economy is better placed today with its credibility re-established by a series of measures taken by the Narendra Modi government. He stressed that India is growing when economies the world over are struggling.

Here are the Key Highlights:

Taxation

- Individual tax payer will benefit to the extent Rs. 4,44,200/- from exemptions announced

- National Pension Scheme: Exemption raised from Rs 1,00,000 to Rs.1,50,000

- Exemption of Rs 50,000 for pension under Sec 80C

- Transport allowance exemption increased to Rs 1600 from Rs 800 per month

- Health Insurance Premium deduction increased to Rs 25,000/- from Rs 15,000

- Health Insurance Premium deduction for Senior Citizens increased to Rs 30,000/- from Rs 10,000

- All contributions to Sukanya Samridhi scheme to be tax free

- Wealth Tax to be abolished

- 2% surcharge on those who have income of over Rs 1 cr per annum

- PAN must for any sale exceeding Rs 1 lakh

- Corporate Tax to be reduced to 25% from 30% over next four years

- To avoid surprise in taxation policy

- Corporate tax to be reduced be 5% over next four years

- Tax relief for yoga instructions, institutions

- Consolidated Service tax increased to 14%

- Direct tax proposals to lead to loss of Rs.8,315 cr

- Indirect proposals to yield Rs 23,383 cr

- India is a super-giant which moves slowly but surely

- Clean energy cess increased from 100 to 200 Rupees per metric ton of coal to finance Green Energy Fund

- 100% tax exemption in CSR activities for Clean Ganga Fund & Swacch Bharat Kosh

- Custom duty on raw materials and intermediaries to be reduced

- MAT rules to be rationalised for FIIs

- To set up IT-based student scholarship scheme

- Tax on Technical Services reduced to 10% from 25%

- Defer the applicability of GAAR for 2 years; will only apply prospectively after Apr 2017

- Super Rich surcharge to garner additional Rs 9,000 cr

- Benami Property Transaction bill to tackle black money transaction in real estate soon

- High corporate tax with too many exceptions gives us worst of both worlds, we neither get revenues nor investments

- Taxation is an instrument of socio-economic engineering

- GST expected to play transformative role by creating a common market; have already introduced bill for same

- Aim to rationalize and cut exemptions in corporate tax

- Direct Tax collection is going to be 14.49 lakh crore rupees

Others

- Have given a road map for the future in the budget speech: FM

- Govt to get tough on Black Money

- Budget speech concludes with commitment to well being of all "Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niramayah”

- Policy of Make in India in Defence not only to cater our needs but also for export

- Defence budget enhanced to Rs 2,46,727 crore

- Special Assistance to Bihar and West Bengal

- Rs 15,000 crore scheme to skill rural India

- Poor students get fund aid through PM scheme

- Renewable energy target will be increased to 1,75,000 MW

- AIIMS to be set up in J&K, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Assam

- IIT in Karnataka, IIMs in J&K and Andhra Pradesh

- ISM Dhanabad will be upgraded to full IIT

- Section 6 of FEMA to be amended

- Public procurement law to be introduced

- Public contracts resolution bill to be introduced

- Rupay Debit Cards to be incentivised, to move towards paperless transactions

- Regulatory reform law for infrastructure development

- To launch National Skills Mission to boost jobs

- Committee to be set up to plan the celebration of the 100th birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya

- Govt to do away with distinctions between FII and FDI and replace it with Composite Caps

- Another 1,000 crores for Nirbhaya Fund

- Corpus for maintenance of Global Heritage Sites at Goa, Gujarat, J&K, Mumbai, Punjab and Telangana

- Environment friendly development process only

- Foreign investment in alternate investment funds

- Govt to introduce Gold Monetization Scheme, Sovereign Gold Bonds

- EPF & ESI has hostage rather than client ; ESI should be made optional to employees

- Visa on arrival for 150 countries in phases

- FMC to be strengthened by merging with SEBI

- To put in place bankruptcy code soon

- Employees contribution to EPF should be optional

- Indian Gold Coin with Ashok Chakra

- 5 Ultra Mega power projects, of 4000 MW announced

- Highest ever allocation for MGNREGA, by increasing it this year by 5,000 crore rupees

- Internationally competitive Direct Tax regime to be put in place

- Deepening of bond market to complement our world class equity; Public Debt Management agency towards this end

- Ports in public sector will be encouraged to corporatize & become companies under Companies Act

- Plan an expert committee for Drafting Legislation for Regulatory mechanism

- NBFCs with size of Rs 500 cr and above to get parity in recoveries

- Capex for state PSUs to be Rs 3.17 lakh crore

- PM agri plans get Rs 3,000 crore extra allocation

- Initial sum of Rs 150 Cr to create world class IT hub to take advantage of our competitiveness

- Expert committee to examine need for multiple prior clearances for projects

- PPP model has to be revised and revitalized

- Rs 30,000 crore allocation for SC welfare schemes

- Lending priority to be given to SC, ST in Mudra bank

- Outlay upped by 24,000 cr for rail, road

- Capex for state PSUs to be Rs 3.17 lakh crore

- Atal Innovation Mission to foster culture of research among India’s and global brain

- Investment in Infrastructure to go up by 70,000 crores in 2015-16 over 2014-15

- Tax free Infrastructure bonds for projects in railways and roads

- PM Surakhsha Bima Yojna to increase the access to insurance ; it will be linked with Jan Dhan Yojna

- Atal Pension Yojna to provide defined pension according to contribution ; 50% contribution to be from Gov

- Divestment in loss making units

- New scheme called Nayi Manzil to enable minority youth without school-leaving certificates to get the employment

- Exhibition of Parsi culture

- Senior citizens welfare fund to subsidise the premium for elderly people

- MUDRA bank to refinance micro finance institution under PMs MUDRA scheme

- To utilize vast postal network for increasing access to institutional banking

- To launch PM Suraksha Bhima Yojana, offering coverage of 2 lakh rupees for just premium of Rs 12 (Rs 1 per month)

- Universal Social Security for all indians

- New scheme physical aid and assited

- GST to be in place by April 01. 2016

- Senior citizens welfare fund to subsidise the premium for elderly people

- Proposes a Mudra Bank of corpus of 20000 crores to refinance the MFIs

- To bring a Comprehensive Bankruptcy code for the ease of doing business by 2015-16

- Committed to increase the access of people to formal financial system

- Committed to bring a Universal social security system for all

- Manufacturing Hub through Make in India program

- Forex reserves at $340 billion

- We need a well targeted system of subsidies rather than to cut subsidies

- Micro irrigation to get Rs 5300 crore

- Electrification of villages by 2020

- To continue with MNREGA

- Agri credit target in 2015-16 increased to 8.5 lakh crore

- National agri market to increase income of farmers

- Well-targeted system of Subsidy delivery, cutting down of leakage

- Need well targeted system to rationalise subsidies

- LPG direct transfer subsidy to be expanded

- Rural Infrastructure Development Fund to be at Rs 25000 Cr

- Road map to achieve Fiscal Deficit of 3% of GDP in three years

- Target of 3.9% in Fiscal Deficit 2015-16

- Target of 3.5% in Fiscal Deficit 2016-17

- Target of 3% in Fiscal Deficit 2017-18

- Will finish the journey to 3% fiscal deficit in two years

- Tax buoyancy is lower but still we will meet the promise of Fiscal deficit of 4.1% of GDP this year

- Latest CPI 5.1% WPI negative

- States to get 62% of the total resources

- Rural and urban divide to be removed

- A roof for each family in India by 2022- 75th Year of India’s Independence

Key challenges:

- First challenge agricultural incomes falling

- Second challenge attracting investment

-Third challenge decline in share of manufacturing

- Fourth challenge need for fiscal discipline

- GST will put in place a state of art taxation system

- To upgrade 80,000 secondary schools

- To sanction 1 lakh km of new roads

- Education, skilling our youth to be our focus

- Real GDP is likely to grow 7.4%; fastest growth in the world

- The latest CPI inflation is 5.1 %

- Move to amend RBI act and provide monetary policy committee

- Expect CPI inflation to remain close to 5% by end of the year

- Our achievement is to conquer inflation; will be only five percent by end of year

- Our objective is to keep inflation below 6%

- Two game changing reforms: GST and JAM Trinity (Jandhan, AADHAR, Mobile No.)

- Double digit growth possible

- 50 lakh toilets already built in 2014-15, aim to build 6 crore

- We are round the clock, round the year Government

- Three achievements: PMJDY , transparent auctions & Swachh Bharat

- We need to think of quantum jump

- States have been empowered financially

- Opportunities have arisen because we have created them

- Jan Dhan Yojna a success

- Objective is to improve quality of life and to pass benefits to common man

- Inherited sentiment of doom and gloom

- Economic Environment far more positive

- India’s stock market the second best performing among major economies

- India fastest growing among major economies

- World is predicting it is India’s chance to fly

- India growing when world over economies are struggling

- Road map for accelerating growth and enhancing investment

- PM Narendra Modi arrives in Parliament

- Union Cabinet approves Union Budget for presentation in Parliament

- Union Cabinet meets ahead of Budget Presentation

- Cabinet will okay Budget after queries from ministers

- Finance Minister will place Budget papers before Cabinet

- FM Jaitley arrives at Parliament

- Sensex opens over 200 points up; Nifty rises 70 points

- Markets rally ahead of Budget

- FM Jaitley arrives at Rashtrapati Bhavan

- FM Jaitley will leave for Rashtrapati Bhavan shortly

- Arun Jaitley arrives at Finance Ministry

- Arun Jaitley will deliver his Budget speech at 11 am in Parliament

 

Courtesy: Zeenews