Union Budget: Why Foreign Trips Could Prove A Headache

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday poured cold water on those expecting tax relief from the Narendra Modi government in its second term in office.

While no proposal has been made on increasing tax slabs, the Finance Minister has proposed to make the filing of return mandatory for those who have deposited more than Rs 1 crore in a current account or have spent over Rs 2 lakh on foreign travel or more than Rs 1 lakh on electricity consumption in a year.

The only benefit one can get is from the purchase of an electric vehicle. Sitharaman has proposed an income exemption of Rs 1.5 lakh on loans taken for the purchase of the vehicles.

Super rich to be taxed more…

She also proposed to raise the tax of those whose annual income is between Rs 2 to Rs 5 crore by 3 per cent. She also proposed an increase of 7 per cent on annual income of above Rs 5 crore.

As the proposal seem to suggest a push for increasing the tax base, the Finance Minister proposed that Aadhaar will be admissible for filing of tax returns for those who still do not have a PAN card.

The government also announced 2 per cent TDS on cash withdrawal on the amount exceeding Rs1 crore in a year.

She said the direct tax revenue has increased from Rs 6.38 lakh in the 2013-14 financial year to around Rs 11.37 lakh crore in 2018-19.