By – Shubhendra Singh Rajawat
Income tax news: Nirmala Sitharaman stated during the presentation of Budget 2024 that there will be no changes to income tax rates or slabs.
Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister of finance, stated on Thursday that there would be no changes to the current tax system, either direct or indirect. Taxpayers won’t see any relief from the interim budget Nirmala Sitharaman announced in advance of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, as income tax rates and slabs stay the same. The finance minister declared, “I propose to retain the same tax rates for direct and indirect taxes, including import duties.”
The start-up tax incentive will last until March 31, 2025.
Because this is an interim budget, as is customary during election years, no significant modifications were made.
What Sitharaman said on tax
“Over the last ten years, direct tax collections have more than tripled, and return filers have increased by 2.4 times. I would like to assure taxpayers that their contributions have been wisely spent for the country’s progress and the well-being of its citizens. “I thank the taxpayers for their support,” Sitharaman stated. “The government has lowered and rationalized tax rates.” The new tax system eliminates tax liability for taxpayers earning up to ₹7 lakh, up from ₹2.2 lakh in 2013-14. Retail enterprises now have a presumed tax threshold of ₹ 3 crore, up from ₹ 2 crore previously. The threshold for professionals eligible for presumptive taxes has increased from ₹ 50 lakh to ₹ 75 lakh. Furthermore, the corporate tax rate was reduced from 30% to 22% for existing domestic enterprises and to 15% for specific new manufacturing companies,” Sitharaman explained.
“Over the previous five years, we have focused on improving tax-payer services. Faceless evaluation and Appeal changed the age-old jurisdiction-based evaluation system, resulting in increased efficiency, transparency, and accountability. The introduction of revised income tax returns, a new Form 26AS, and tax return prefilling has simplified and facilitated tax return filing. The average processing period for returns has been lowered from 93 days in 2013-14 to ten days this year, resulting in speedier reimbursements,” she stated.
Sitharaman’s tax ideas for the interim Budget 2024
“As for tax ideas, in accordance with the convention, I do not propose any changes to taxation and propose to maintain the current tax rates for direct and indirect taxes, including import charges. Certain tax benefits to start-ups and investments made by sovereign wealth or pension funds, as well as a tax exemption on certain income of particular IFSC units, will expire on March 31, 2024. To ensure continuity in taxation, I suggest extending the deadline to March 31, 2025,” the minister stated
“Moreover, in keeping with our Government’s aim to improve the ease of living and doing business, I would like to make an announcement to improve tax payer services. There are numerous small, unverified, unreconciled, or disputed direct tax claims on the books, many of which date back to 1962, generating concern for honest taxpayers and impeding refunds in succeeding years. I propose to drop pending direct tax requests up to ₹25,000 for 2009-10 and ₹10,000 for 2010-11 to 2014-15. The minister stated that this is projected to assist approximately one crore of taxpayers.
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