Income Tax Budget 2024 Highlights: Salaried class left 'disappointed,' says this expert

Income Tax Budget 2024 LIVE: As per Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO, ClearTax, the salaried class is ‘disappointed’ with the budget.

He tells Mint: “The FM had made it clear that her decision was in line with the convention of the interim budgets..While no big-ticket reforms about the tax rates were expected in the interim budget 2024, taxpayers widely anticipated that the government would provide tax relief through a wider deduction base under Section 80C or a separate deduction for insurance premiums.”

Income Tax Budget 2024 LIVE: Income tax, which constitutes a key part of direct taxes, is levied on the income earned by individuals, including salaries, wages, profits from business or profession, capital gains, dividends, interest, rents, and royalties. For the middle class, which typically relies on salaries, wages, and sometimes interest from savings or investments, income tax can constitute a substantial portion of their financial obligations to the government. Read more

Income Tax Budget 2024 LIVE: "The interim budget is balanced from the point of view of adhering to fiscal prudence, boosting infrastructure growth, and prioritizing focus on four key sections of the economy - the poor, women, youth, and farmers. We believe the FM’s focus on higher outlay for infrastructure will help in boosting the broader economy and in the long term will boost investment activity,' opines George Alexander Muthoot, MD, Muthoot Finance.

Income Tax Budget 2024 LIVE: "A directionally positive interim budget - supporting continuity of all critical commitments made by the govt related to - (a) Fiscal rectitude (managing, both the fiscal deficit for this year at 5.8% as well as confirming the estimates at 5.1% for the coming year and below 4.5% for the year after) and reducing the borrowings for the next year, leaving room for the private sector; (b) Continued capex growth in Infra with an increased outlay of 11.11 L crore and in Railways, Aviation, etc. - for a multiplier effect on the ground; and (c) Continued focus on supporting the four broad pillars (Poor, Women, Youth and Farmers) through various schemes - in a way lifting the bottom of the pyramid for overall progress of the nation!

Sometimes not wavering and treading the beaten path is the best thing!": Manish Kothari, President and Head Commercial Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank

Lasting just 58 minutes, this was the shortest of Nirmala Sitharaman's six budget speeches. She also holds the record for longest budget speech: her February 2020 address lasted 162 minutes.

July 2019: 140 minutes

February 2021: 100 minutes

February 2022: 91 minutes

February 2023: 87 minutes

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: “The decision to not tinker with personal income tax slabs and rates in the interim budget is understandable from a prudence perspective. With global headwinds persisting, fiscal consolidation needs to balance against adequate capital expenditure to nurture growth,” says Ashish Aggarwal of Acube Ventures.

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: A flood of memes erupts on social media after no announcements are made on the income tax front, and tax rates are kept unchanged.

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: “Under the new tax scheme, no tax liability for taxpayers with income up to ₹7,” announces FM Sitharaman. This means that those with an annual income of less than ₹7 lakh, are exempted from paying tax.

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: "I propose to retain the same tax rates for direct and indirect taxes including import duties," says FM Sitharaman.

""Given the current mood, we do not anticipate any populism in the budget. We do not expect that the Government will go for major announcements in an "interim budget", before the elections. They may signal their intent to continue on the path of pragmatic fiscal management with a continued focus on infra spending and spending on social infrastructure. One area where we may expect some positive relief is on personal income tax. There may be some rationalisation of tax slabs and rate," Satish Ramanathan,CIO Of equity, JM Financial Asset Management.

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: The finance minister is likely to roll out small tax measures, and tweaks in certain income tax rates, especially for those at the bottom of the taxpayer pyramid, reports Mint.

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: The new regime, introduced in budget 2020, was made default regime in budget 2023. Those opting for the new regime, however, cannot claim several exemptions and deductions, including HRA, LTA, 80C, 80D and more.

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman begins her sixth straight budget speech, making her only the second finance minister to deliver six consecutive budgets. As finance minister, ex-PM Morarji Desai is the only one to have delivered six straight budgets.

While Desai tabled five full budgets and an interim one, Sitharaman too has presented five full budgets, while the current one is interim.

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: “Presently as per Section 80 CCE the deductions available under Section 80C, 80CCC and 80 CCD(1) put together are capped at ₹1.50 lakh per year. This limit of ₹1.50 lakh was revised from ₹1 lakh in 2014. The earlier limit of ₹1 lakh was fixed way back in 2003. It has been almost 18 years since the original limit of ₹1 lakh was fixed. It has only been increased by 50% in 2014 which works out to just less than 3% annually. This annual average increase is not even on par with average inflation during the same period. In my opinion, this should be directly raised minimum to ₹2.50 lakh,” says Balwant Jain, an investment and tax expert.

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: Akhil Chandna of Grant Thornton Bharat tells Mint that ‘individual taxpayers are hopeful to have some tax amendments that can result in tax savings in their hands.’

As per Chandna, some of the key expectations are:

(1.) a more lucrative new tax regime

(2.) Extension of the timeline for a revised ITR

(3.) Simplifying current capital gains tax regime, by harmonising the different tax rates applicable on the sale of listed securities or unlisted securities, or any other long-term /short-term capital asset

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: Annual income up to ₹2.5 lakh: Zero tax

Annual income between ₹2.5 lakh and ₹5 lakh: 5% tax

Annual income between ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh: 20% tax

Annual income above ₹10 lakh: 30% tax.

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: Annual income up to ₹3 lakh: Zero tax

Annual income between ₹3 lakh and ₹6 lakh: 5% tax

Annual income between ₹6 lakh and ₹9 lakh: 10% tax

Annual income between ₹9 lakh and 12 lakh: 15% tax

Annual income between ₹12 lakh and ₹15 lakh: 20% tax

Annual income exceeding ₹15 lakh: 30% tax

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: Nirmala Sitharaman poses with her team before budget presentation, scheduled to begin at 11 am.

Income Tax Slabs Budget 2024 LIVE: Swati Saxena, Founder-CEO of Four Thoughts Finance, a Bengaluru-based wealth management firm, tells Mint that as no major announcements are expected with this being an interim budget, there could be relief on personal income taxes.

“We hope that the maximum tax rate of 30% be reduced to improve the individual's buying power. The budget should offer a degree of personal tax relief, either by way of lower tax rates or by readjusting tax slabs to put money in consumer's pockets,” she says.

According to Mint, taxpayers can expect the following four income tax benefits from Nirmala Sitharaman:

(1.) 80D deduction limit

(2.) Ease in TDS compliance for home buyers

(3.) Simplification of capital gains taxation

(4.) Bengaluru to be considered a ‘metro city’ for HRA exemption.