Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made some big announcements during her Union Budget speech on Tuesday, including revision of slabs under new tax regime, increased standard deduction and abolition of angel tax. Meanwhile stock market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty plunged after a hike was proposed in STT (Securities Transaction Tax) on F&O (Futures and Options) securities.
Nirmala Sitharaman said the government plans to raise the capital gains exemption limit on certain financial assets to Rs 1.25 lakh per year for the middle and upper middle class.
She also announced withdrawal of the 2 per cent equalisation levy. The government also increased the deduction limit to 14 per cent from 10 per cent for employers' contribution for the National Pension System (NPS).
The finance minister said the standard deduction for salaried employees will be hiked to Rs 75,000, from Rs 50,000 under new income tax regime in FY25.
Basic customs duty on gold and silver was reduced to 6 per cent and platinum to 6.4 per cent besides removal of BCD on ferronickel, blister copper. However, BCD was increased from 10 per cent to 15 per cent on specified telecom equipment. The custom duty on ammonium nitrate has been raised to 10 per cent and non-biodegradable plastics to 25 per cent.
The government will look at further lowering duties for properties purchased by women and making it an essential component of urban development schemes, finance minister said on Tuesday.
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