Mitali Palnitkar
Published On: February 01, 2022 at 17:24 IST
On February 01, 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Income Tax slabs will remain unchanged. The Budget for the coming Financial Year 2022-23 is largely focused on infrastructure.
The Finance Minister announced few important measures for Taxpayers and Digital Currency Owners in the Budget speech.
There were no changes made in the Income Tax slabs in the Budget. Also, there were no changes in Standard Deduction. As per the current system, a salaried person can claim a Standard Deduction of Rs 50,000 from their salary. It was anticipated that there would be an increase in the Standard Deduction due to elevated inflation levels.
The Government will be providing a one-time window for the correction of omissions in the Income Tax Returns (ITRs). The updated returns shall be filed within two years from the assessment year.
A 30% Tax on income has been proposed for transfer of Virtual Digital Assets. One per cent Tax is deducted at source on transfer of Virtual Assets above threshold, gifts would be Taxed. The Government will also be rolling out Digital Rupee based on Blockchain Technology.
A Tax Relief for people with disabilities was also announced. The parent/guardian of the differently-abled can take an Insurance scheme for such a person. The payment of annuity or lump sum amount to the differently-abled dependent during the lifetime of the parents/guardians attaining age of 60 years would also be allowed.
The Finance Minister also stated, “Tax Incentives for Startups increased from three years to four years of incorporation, in view of the pandemic.”
The Corporate Tax is at the same level and the Concessional Corporate Tax rate of 15% shall be available till March 2024 for newly incorporated manufacturing companies.
The Government would be increasing Tax Deduction from 10% to 14% on contribution to NPS (National Pension System) by State government to employees but the same will not be available to Non-Government staff.
The Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) will also be reduced to 15% for co-operative societies. Also, the surcharge on Long-term Capital Gains (LTCG) would be capped at 15% and will be available only for listed shares and units from Mutual Funds.