"Keeping with the convention, I do not propose to make any changes relating to taxation and propose to retain the same tax rates for direct taxes and indirect taxes including import duties," said the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Interim Budget 2024-25 in the Parliament today.
To ensure continuity in taxation, the Union Finance Minister proposed to extend certain tax benefits to start-ups and investments made by sovereign wealth or pension funds and tax exemption on certain income of some IFSC units till 31.03.2025.
In line with the Government’s vision to improve ease of living and ease of doing business, and to provide a relief to a large number of petty, non-verified, non-reconciled or disputed direct tax demands, many of them dating as far back as the year 1962, Smt. Sitharaman proposed to withdraw such outstanding direct tax demands up to ₹25,000 pertaining to the period up to financial year 2009-10 and up to ₹10,000 for financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15. This is expected to benefit about one crore tax-payers.
Key Highlights of Direct Tax
- FM proposes to retain same tax rates for direct taxes
- Direct tax collection tripled, return filers increased to 2.4 times, in the last 10 years
- Government to improve tax payer services
- Outstanding direct tax demands upto Rs 25000 pertaining to the period upto FY 2009-10 withdrawn
- Outstanding direct tax demands upto Rs 10000 for financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15 withdrawn
- This will benefit one crore tax payers
- Tax benefits to Start-Ups, investments made by Sovereign wealth funds or pension funds extended to 31.03.2025
- Tax exemption on certain income of IFSC units extended by a year to 31.03.2025 from 31.03.2024
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