Direct Taxation

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs presented the Interim Union Budget 2024-2025

01.02.2024

The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Interim Union Budget 2024-2025 in Parliament. The Government stands committed to strengthening and expanding the economy with high growth and to create conditions for people to realise their aspirations as stated by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs.

No change relating to taxation has been proposed in the Interim Budget. The same rates for direct taxes and indirect taxes, including import duties, have been retained. However, to provide continuity in taxation, certain tax benefits to Start-Ups and investments made by sovereign wealth or pension funds as also tax exemptions on certain income of some IFC units have been extended by one year up to 31st March, 2025. Union Minister made an announcement to improve tax payer services which is in line with the government’s vision to improve ease of living and ease of doing business. The Interim Budget proposes to withdraw outstanding direct tax demands up to Rs. 25000 pertaining to the period up to financial year 2009-2010 and up to Rs. 10,000 for financial years 2010-2011 to 2014-2015. This is expected to benefit about a crore tax payers.

Appreciating the tax payers for their support, Union Minister said that, over the last 10 years the direct tax collections have more than trebled and the return filers swelled to 2.4 times. The Government has reduced and rationalised the tax rates due to which under the new tax regime, there is no tax liability for tax payers with income up to Rs. 7 lakh. Union Minister also mentioned about increase in threshold for presumptive taxation for retail businesses as well as professionals. The Minister also mentioned about decrease in corporate tax rates for existing domestic companies from 30% to 22%, and for certain new manufacturing companies to 15%. In the last 5 years the Government’s focus has been to improve tax-payer services which have led to transformation of age-old jurisdiction-based assessment system, and filing of tax returns has been made simpler and easier. Average processing time of returns has been reduced from 93 days in the year 2013-2014 to a mere ten days this year, thereby making refunds faster.

Tags : Budget Announcement

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