With elections around the corner, the Government presented an Interim Budget today. No tax on taxable income upto Rs.5 lakh, increase in standard deduction from Rs.40,000 to Rs.50,000, relief for small farmers, increase in TDS threshold for rent and deposits, boost to real estate investments, were among the key proposals.Here’s a look at some of the other Interim Budget 2019 highlights:
Interim Budget 2019 Highlights
Salaried Individuals
a) Personal income tax slabs remain unchanged
b) No tax applicable on taxable income upto Rs.5 lakh, under Section 87A
c) Standard deduction increased from Rs.40,000 to Rs.50,000
d) Income tax returns to be processed within 24 hours, tax refunds to be processed immediately
Real estate investments
a) Tax exemption on notional rent on a second self-occupied house
b) TDS threshold for deduction of tax on rent to be increased from Rs.1.8 lakh to Rs.2.4 lakh
c) Tax exemption period on notional rent on unsold inventories extended from 1 year to 2 years
d) Section 54 exemption on 2nd house property for capital gains less than Rs.2 crore, available once in a lifetime.
Business and Industry
a) GST registered SME units will get 2% interest rebate on incremental loan of Rs.1 crore
b) Requirement of sourcing from SMEs by Government enterprises increased to 25%
c) Of this, material to the extent of at least 3% will be sourced from women owned SMEs.
d) Establishment of National Centre on Artificial Intelligence as a hub with Centres of Excellence
Other Key Highlights of Interim Budget 2019
– TDS threshold on interest earned on bank/post office deposits increased from Rs.10,000 to Rs.40,000
– Small farmers with land upto 2 hectares to get assured yearly income of Rs.6,000 under PM-KISAN scheme
– Single window clearance for Indian filmmakers, anti-camcording provision to be introduced to fight piracy
– Interest subvention of 2% during disaster for farmers for entire period of rescheduling of loan
– Interest subvention also applicable to farmers pursuing animal husbandry and fisheries
– Additional 3% interest subvention in case of timely repayment of loan
– Defence budget to exceed Rs.30 lakh crore for the first time
– Assured pension of Rs.3,000 p.m for workers in the unorganised sector
The entire text of the Interim Budget speech is available here