8 Income Tax Benefits that I see in this budget: Lavanya

Being a woman, I am very happy to see a woman Finance Minister presenting the budget tomorrow. As a professional, I foresee the following benefits with respect to Income Taxes.

1. Deduction under section 80C has to be increased from the existing 1.5 lakhs to at least 3,00,000 considering the inflation in the economy.

2. The basic limit of 2.5 Lakhs has to be increased to 3.5 Lakhs - this has been the same since the last 4-5 years.

3. The 30% slab has to be applied for those earning above Rs. 20,00,000 and not just Rs 10,00,000.

4. Startups need to get more tax exemptions. In my opinion, relaxation with respect to angel tax on investments has to be in place.

5. Since the cost of most of the services increased after the introduction of GST, compliance with respect to TDS on rent paid need to be reduced. The percentage may be lowered to 5% for rents upto Rs 5,00,000 per annum.

6. Tax on short term Capital gain has to be reduced to 20%.

7. The Agriculture sector has to get more subsidies. Unless the farming sector gets its boost, economy cannot revive.

8. The government also needs to focus more on employment generation.

The citizens expect burden-free tax compliance. I am sure small changes in the Act will bring in more voluntary compliance.

Ms. Lavanya is Chairperson - ICAI Hyderabad Chapter