No relief for individual taxpayers: FM Sitharaman announces no change in income tax slabs
Even as the salaried middle class was looking forward to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing some populist measures in the Union Budget 2022, there was no change in income tax slabs for 2022-23. The income tax rates for 2022-23 were also not revised.
Income tax relief, possible standard deduction revision to account for more work for home expenses, higher limits for investments under Chapter VI-A (Section 80C, Section 80D) were being watched closely.
Sitharaman started the second part of her Budget 2022 speech by talking about direct taxes with a verse from the Mahabharata.
“The king must collect taxes in accordance with dharma,” she said, quoting from Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata.
However, a new updated return system was proposed where people can file updated returns within 2 years of the filed IT Return.
FM also reduced the minimum alternate tax (MAT) for cooperatives from 18.5% to 15%. Existing tax benefits for Startups that were offered redemption of taxes for 3 consecutive years was extended by one more year.
At present, those with an annual taxable income of up to Rs 2.5 lakh do not have to pay income tax while those under Rs 5 lakh get a full rebate. Those earning between Rs 2.5-5 lakh are taxed at 10 percent, 20 percent for Rs 5-10 lakh, and 30 percent for beyond.
