If you were expecting a raise in basic tax exemption limit to ₹5 lakh or reintroduction of standard deduction for the salaried class, then yes, Jaitley’s Budget didn’t have any big bang measures for you.
But several baby steps have been made towards helping the common man breathe easy. What more, these moves are not only on the taxation front, but also in several other walks of our daily lives - whether it’s cheaper consumer goods, easing of documentation requirements for investors, securing our future financial needs, or the incentive to shop more abroad.
First, the raise does leave some more money in your pocket, giving you savings of up to a maximum of ₹5150 on tax payments. But this is not the only savings you make.
Remember the rebate of ₹2000 for those earning between ₹2-5 lakhs announced in the 2013 Budget? So, in addition to the lower outgo mentioned above, you will spend ₹2000 less on taxes if you fall in this income group. Just as how you may be doing this year, you can claim this amount as a rebate (Sec 87A) from total tax payable when you file your return next year.
A third avenue opened up for lowering your tax outgo is the raising of the Sec 80C deduction limit from ₹1 to ₹1.5 lakhs. Make use of the additional ₹50,000 here and you will further save anywhere between ₹5150 and ₹15,450 depending on whether you fall under the 10, 20, or 30 per cent tax slab.
Enough for future And finally, don’t forget the increase in deduction available for interest paid on housing loan, if you are occupying the house. Yet another ₹50,000 additional deduction here will save ₹5,150–₹15,450 again.
The Finance Minister has not only put more money in our hands today but has also made sure we have enough for our tomorrow. One step in this direction is the raising of the investment limit in PPF to ₹150,000.
Given that there is a tax deduction on the initial investment, no tax on interest and receipt of maturity amount, PPF is the best risk-free instrument available in the market today to save for big goals like the education and marriage of your children, retirement, and so on.
This apart, the Budget has promised raised minimum pension for Employee Provident Fund members, and an ‘uniform account number’ service for all EPF members for easy transfer of PF account when shifting jobs. These again provide an added incentive for you to stay invested and not withdraw your EPF money prematurely.
More investment options have been introduced too. The NSC with insurance cover, removing service tax on micro-insurance premium payments, and an instrument for the education or marriage of the girl child are steps towards securing our future and providing for our dependants.
Time is money Imagine the number of work hours we give up each time meet our banker, insurance agent, and stock broker. Imagine the time we take to collate all the various proofs – of being born, being named, existence, having money and what not !
Then there is the hassle of maintaining separate accounts for each investment, remembering passwords for each, and consolidating them all for a bird’s eye view. The budget has eased this pressure by promising a unified demat account and uniform, inter-usable ‘Know Your Customer’ norms for all financial instruments. Sixty more Aayakar Seva Kendras, a single window for all tax-related services you may require like filing returns or redressing grievances, will also be in place.
Small is good And, as they say, great things come in small packages. Apart from good savings on taxes, there are many small takeaways from the Budget - such as the excise or customs duty reductions on raw materials that go into several things we spend on.
As a result, manufacturers of these products may cut product prices in order to improve their flagging sales. These range from big ticket consumer goods like cars, bikes and LCD/LED televisions to small essentials like soaps and footwear to even luxuries like e-book readers.
Small savings made here from lower prices is sure to give you more disposable income. And finally, baggage allowance has been increased from ₹35,000 to ₹45,000. Now, why not spend more on that vacation abroad?