Budget 2020 LIVE updates and Budget highlights: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced massive state funding to help India’s farm sector in Union Budget 2020-21, aiming to get broader economic growth back up from its lowest in a decade.
Sitharaman revised the fiscal deficit target to 3.8 per cent for the current fiscal year, from an earlier target of per cent. She pegged the fiscal deficit target for 2020-21 at 3.5 per cent of the GDP.
Income Tax rates for earning up to Rs 15 lakh have been slashed and no tax will be applied on earnings up to Rs 5 lakh, but no exemptions will be allowed if the tax payer opts for the new rates, she said in the Budget speech.
Budget 2020 comes at a time when India is staring at an estimated 5 per cent annual rate of expansion, the slowest pace since 2009.
Taxpayers opting for new tax regime will have to forego deductions on PF, tuition fee, insurance
A taxpayer opting for new income tax slabs and rates will have to forego a host of exemptions and deductions, including a standard deduction of Rs 50,000, tuition fee of children, and contribution towards insurance premium and the provident fund. A taxpayer, however, can choose to remain in the existing regime with exemptions and deductions.