New Delhi, February 26: The Union Budget 2010-11, presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha on Friday, proposed a sizable tax relief for individuals, but hiked the excise and minimum alternate tax (MAT) as part of the partial stimulus rollback, besides imposing a Re 1 per litre increase on petrol and diesel duty.
With the economy expected to grow 8.5 percent in the next fiscal, the Finance Minister estimated a deficit of 5.5 percent for 2010-11, lower from the current estimated 6.9 percent this fiscal.
In his marathon 100-minute speech, Mukherjee sounded upbeat about the resilience of the country’s economy and said India has successfully “weathered” the global crisis.
Mukherjee said 46 percent of the plan allocation will be set aside for infrastructure, while hiking the outlays for rural and urban development, as also for education and healthcare. He also promised to implement the direct tax code from April next year, and assured a simplified foreign investment policy soon.
BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
Income Tax
Personal Income Tax slabs widened
Income up to Rs 1.6 lakh – NIL
Above Rs 1.6 lakh to 5 lakh — 10%
Above Rs 5 lakh to 8 lakh — 20%
Above Rs 8 lakh — 30%
Deduction of Rs 20,000 in long term infrastructure bonds
Contribution under central scheme to be included for Health Insurance exemption
Income Tax Department ready with Saral-2 form for salaried tax-payers
2,000 Income Tax Returns daily
Revamp needed of internal working system
One percent interest subsidy on home loan up to Rs 10 lakh March 2011
Weighted deduction on RD raised to 200% from 150%=
Professionals with Rs 15 lakh income need account audit
Interest on tax deduction, not paid, raised to 18%
Research and Development deduction hiked
Two more centres for tax filing
Income tax centres in Pune and Cochin — Single window system to address grievances
Four more cities to get this system