New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced measures to withdraw outstanding disputed tax demands for specific periods, a move she said will benefit 10 million taxpayers by ending disputes going back decades.
“In line with our government’s vision to improve ease of living and ease of doing business, I propose to withdraw outstanding direct tax demands up to ₹ 25,000 pertaining to the period up to financial year 2009-10 and up to ₹10,000 pertaining to the period from FY11 to FY15.”
The proposal will help resolve tax disputes pending for several decades. There are many petty, non-verified, non-reconciled or disputed direct tax demands, many dating back to 1962, which continue to remain on the books, causing anxiety to honest taxpayers and hindering refunds of subsequent years, she said in her budget speech.
However, the finance minister didn’t announce any changes in the income tax slab.
“As for tax proposals, in keeping with the convention, I do not propose to make any changes relating to taxation and propose to retain the same tax rates for direct taxes and indirect taxes including import duties,” she said.
The FM did however propose to extend the date for certain tax benefits to start-ups and investments made by sovereign wealth or pension funds to 31 March next year as it was due to expire by the end of this fiscal year. The tax exemption will be effective for IFSC units too.
“Under the new tax scheme, there is now no tax liability for tax payers with income up to ₹7 lakh, up from ₹2.2 lakh in the financial year 2013-14. The threshold for presumptive taxation for retail businesses was increased from ₹2 crore to ₹3 crore,” the FM said.
“Similarly, the threshold for professionals eligible for presumptive taxation was increased from ₹50 lakh to ₹75 lakh. Also, the corporate tax rate was decreased from 30% to 22% for existing domestic companies and to 15% for certain new manufacturing companies,” she said.
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Published: 01 Feb 2024, 01:39 PM IST