The more you earn, the more you keep
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The run-up to the Budget was rife with mutterings about how it might have a Leftist tilt, and raise the tax burden on the well-off. The reality has turned out to be very different. Union finance minister P Chidambaram didn’t exactly quote Deng Xiaoping’s famous slogan that “to get rich is glorious,” but if the new tax regime is anything to go by, he agrees wholeheartedly. For one thing, more tax benefits have now been made available to the higher income group. So far, benefits under Section 88 were disallowed to a person with income of over Rs 5 lakh. The only tax savings available to the high-income group were by investing up to Rs 10,000 each under Sections 80CCC and 80CCD in pension and mediclaim schemes respectively. However, under the new system, tax rebate is available on investments in instruments which were covered under Section 88, even if the income is over Rs 5 lakh. Interestingly, the proposal to do away with the exemption has benefited the high income group among the non-salaried class more than their salaried counterparts. More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com |