For many families affected by price rise, the budget has given some relief in terms of income tax.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley increased the income tax exemption limit from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh for those aged below 60. For senior citizens, the limit has been increased to Rs. 3 lakh from Rs. 2.5 lakh. The investment limit under section 80C of the Income-tax Act has been increased to Rs. 1.5 lakh an annum from Rs. 1 lakh. He also announced a Rs. 50,000 relief for those with housing loans for self-occupied properties.
Explaining the benefit of the proposal, a chartered accountant said that a person earning Rs. 5 lakh a year will have a basic tax exemption of Rs. 5,000. The total relief for those earning up to Rs. 10 lakh a year, who also have home loans and investments, will be around Rs. 25,000 and for those earning more than Rs. 10 lakh an annum, it could be around Rs. 35,000.
“I had high expectations but am not entirely disappointed. The increase in basic tax exemption and investment limit by Rs. 50,000 comes as a relief. Those who have home loans too will benefit as the relief has been hiked to Rs. 2 lakh,” said Varadaraja Prahaladacharya, an IT professional.