The government has left direct taxes unchanged, but took steps in direct tax incentives to ease compliance for taxpayers.
Senior citizens above 75 years of age with only pension and interest incomes have been exempted from filing tax returns, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Monday.While tabling the Union budget 2021-22 in Parliament, the minister said that the number of income tax return filers has increased to 6.48 crores now from 3.48 crores in 2014.
The government has left direct taxes unchanged, but took steps in direct tax incentives to ease compliance for taxpayers.
“We shall reduce the compliance burden on our senior citizens who are 75 years of age and above. For senior citizens who have pensions and interest income, I propose exemption from filing their income tax returns. The paying bank will deduct the necessary tax from their income,” she said.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed parliament today with details of the Union Budget 2021, the first after a difficult year for the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She announced foreign direct investment (FDI) hike in insurance to 74 per cent from 49 per cent with foreign control under safeguards. The Finance Minister has set a target of ₹ 16.5 lakh crore as agricultural credit. Her budget speech comes after a difficult year for the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down businesses for months, leading to lost earnings, curtailed consumer spending and job cuts. "The total impact of Atmanirbhar Bharat and measures by RBI was ₹ 27.1 lakh crore, which amounts to 30 per cent of GDP," Ms Sitharaman said. "2021 is a year of many milestones," she said.
The ninth budget - including an interim one - of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put weightage on creating jobs and rural development - two areas hit hardest by the pandemic. Today's budget will have to go far beyond what the mini-budget in September 2019 achieved by reducing corporate tax, and the subsequent economy-booster announcements during the lockdown necessitated by the pandemic. The budget comes as an economic vaccine for the pandemic-battered economy and to steer India with the much-needed stimulus to boost demand and consumer confidence.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government has come out with open and transparent Budget and has not made any attempt to hide anything under the carpet.
She said that the focus of the Budget 2021-22 has been on spending big on infrastructure and attending to the needs of healthcare sector for reviving Indian economy which is expected to contract by 7.7 per cent in the current fiscal ending March.
Briefing media after the presentation of Budget in Parliament, Ms Sitharaman said the government has not lost opportunity to clean up its own book.
"Speed Booster", "Aatma Barbaad": How Karnataka Leaders Reacted To Budget
The 2021-22 union budget evoked responses on expected lines in Karnataka on Monday with Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa saying it has come as a catalyst that can revive the sluggish economy and opposition leaders slamming it as "Aatma Barbad" "Aatma Vanchane".
BS Yeddiyurappa said he strongly believed that the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will act as a "speed booster" to the economy which was badly hit due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Describing it as pro-poor and pro-middle class, he said it was impossible to expect a better budget amidst the pandemic.
India on Monday set aside over ₹ 7,100 crore in its budget for 2021-22 as development assistance for countries in its neighbourhood as well as in Africa and Latin America, with Bhutan getting the maximum allocation of ₹ 3,004 crore while ₹ 100 crore will be given to Chabahar port project in Iran.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated ₹ 18,154 crore to the Ministry of External Affairs in the union budget, out of which ₹ 7,148 crore has been earmarked as aid to countries.As per the revised estimates, India's development assistance in 2020-21 was ₹ 5,369 crore.
According to the budget documents, Bhutan will get a total of ₹ 3,004 crore compared to the revised estimate of ₹ 2,261 crore in 2020-21.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced the much-awaited voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and polluting vehicles.
Presenting the Budget for 2021-22 in Parliament, Ms Sitharaman said that under voluntary vehicle scrapping policy, personal vehicles would undergo fitness test after 20 years while commercial vehicles would require it after completion of 15 years.
Welcoming the policy, Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Minister Nitin Gadkari said the policy will lead to new investment of around ₹ 10,000 crore and create as many as 50,000 jobs.
He further said the policy would cover over 1 crore light, medium and heavy motor vehicles.
On Rahul Gandhi's "Crony Capitalist" Charge, Nirmala Sitharaman's Rebuttal
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday hit back at Rahul Gandhi's claim that the Budget favours certain crony capitalists, saying Congress-ruled Kerala-government in the past had handed over a port in the state to the same businessman on invitation basis.
Soon after the Budget presentation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Narendra Modi government plans to hand over India's assets to crony capitalists through stake sale in public sector companies and financial institutions, including two PSU banks and an insurance company, in the next fiscal.
"Forget putting cash in the hands of people, Modi government plans to handover India's assets to his crony capitalist friends," he said after the presentation of the Union Budget.
The BJP on Monday hailed the Union Budget as one for an "Aatmanirbhar Bharat'', and asserted that this all-inclusive budget will strengthen the economy and double farmers' income.
Ruling party leaders lauded the budget for its focus on a number of measures, including capital expenditure, tax exemption for senior citizens and incentives for start-ups among others.
The Union budget is all-inclusive and touches every section of society, BJP president JP Nadda said while expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The effects of the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on some goods can be felt immediately. Some of the items that have become cheaper includes gold and silver, and those that became costlier include solar cells and mobile phone. Read
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday flayed the Union Budget, saying it reflects the Centre's "persistent efforts to sideline" non-BJP ruled states.
His reaction came hours after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2021-22.
The Punjab CM claimed that the Budget was "reflective of the BJP-led central government''s total apathy towards the common man, the middle class and farmers".
Amarinder Singh criticised the Centre for the "stepmotherly" treatment meted out to Punjab and other northern states, claiming that it was "designed" to cater to the poll-bound states of West Bengal and south India with a massive infrastructure development allocation for these regions.
* Exemption from filing income tax returns for senior citizens (75 years and above) who only have pension and interest income. The paying bank will deduct the necessary tax on their income.
* Reducing time limit for reopening of income tax assessment.
* Constitution of a dispute resolution committee for small tax payers
* Income tax appellate tribunal to be made faceless
* Increase in limit for tax audit for persons who carry out 95% of their transactions digitally
* Dividend payment to REIT/InvIT (real estate investment trusts and infrastructure investment trusts) to be exempted from TDS
* Pre-filling of returns will also cover capital gains from listed securities, dividend income,
* Eligibility for claiming tax holiday for start ups proposed to be extended by one more year
* Additional deduction of Rs1.5 lakh shall be available for loans taken up till March 31, 2022 for purchase of affordable house
