What Sitharaman's 7th Budget has in store for us

Highlights of the Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

• Standard deduction in new tax regime hiked to Rs 75,000 from Rs 50,000

• Deduction on family pension for pensioners raised from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000

• Tax slabs under new tax regime tweaked: 5% for income between Rs 3-7 lakh, 10% (for Rs 7-10 lakh), 15% for Rs 10-12 lakh

• Salaried employee in the new tax regime stands to save up to Rs 17,500 in income tax

• Three cancer drugs -- TrastuzumabDeruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab -- fully exempted from custom duty

• Customs duty on mobile phone, mobile Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) and mobile charger reduced to 15%

• Customs duties on gold and silver reduced to 6% and that on platinum to 6.4%.

• Security Transactions Tax on futures and options of securities increased to 0.02% and 0.1%, respectively.

• Income received on buy back of shares to be taxed in the hands of recipient

• Angel tax for all classes of investors abolished to boost startups

• Corporate tax rate on foreign companies reduced from 40 to 35%.

• Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024 for resolution of income tax disputes pending in appeal

• Monetary limits for filing direct taxes, excise and service tax related appeals in tax tribunals, high courts and Supreme Court increased to Rs 60 lakh, Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore respectively

• 20% tax on short-term gains on certain financial assets

• 12.5% tax on long term gains on all financial and non-financial assets

• Long-term capital gains up to Rs 1.25 lakh from listed equities exempted

• TDS rate on e-commerce operators reduced from one to 0.1%

• Delay for payment of TDS up to due date of filing statement decriminalized.

• I-T assessment can be reopened beyond 3 years up to five years only if the escaped income is Rs 50 lakh or more.

• In search cases, time limit reduced from 10 to 6 years before the year of search

• Govt to complete comprehensive review of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in six months

• GST to be simplified and rationalised to expand to remaining sectors

• Fiscal deficit pegged at 4.9% of GDP in FY25, to be cut further below 4.5% next year

• Budget outlines 9 priority areas, including manufacturing and services, and next generation reforms, in pursuit of Viksit Bharat

• Budget focusses on employment, skilling, MSME, middle class

• Allocates Rs 1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and allied sectors

• FY25 capex pegged at Rs 11.11 lakh crore

• Rs 11,500 crore financial support to certain irrigation and flood mitigation projects in Bihar

• Rs 15,000 crore special financial support to Andhra Pradesh through multilateral development agencies.

Union Budget 2024: Complete Coverage