UNION BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS 2015
- No change in Income Tax Slab.
- Corporate Tax to be reduced from 30% to 25% over the next Four Years - Exemptions have been removed.
- Exemptions and Incentives to Individual tax payers will continue.
- GST to be implemented by April 1,2016.
- Wealth Tax to be abolished and replaced with a super rich tax for those with Income of over Rs 1 Crore.
- Service Tax Rate to be increased to 14%. A consolidated rate of Service tax is proposed, i.e, No Education and Senior Higher Education Cess.
- Cess of 2% on Services for Swachh Bharat on certain taxable services.
- Increase in limit of deduction of health insurance premium (Under Section 80D) to Rs. 25,000 from the present limit of Rs 15,000. For senior citizens, the limit will be Rs. 30,000. Very senior citizens (Above 80 years) can claim Rs. 30,000 deduction on account of medical expenses incurred.
- Additional deduction of Rs. 25,000 for differently abled persons.
- Government has aimed to increase the access to Insurance.
- Basic Customs Duty reduced for 22 items (Customs duty on raw material and intermediaries to be reduced).
- Excise Duty proposed at a consolidated rate of 12.50% , i.e, No Education and Senior Higher Education Cess.
- Changes proposed in Excise Duty on Cigarettes.
- Incentives to be provided for Leather Footwear to Leather manufacturers and to Companies like BATA.
- Tax reduced for footwear above Rs 1,000/pair.
- Tax-free infrastructure bonds for projects in railways and roads.
- Foreign Exchange Management Act to allow for seizure of foreign properties and assets.
- FEMA Act to be amended to incorporate Black Money Provisions
- To Enact new law for Black Money. Stringent penalties and Jail for Black money holders and evaders.
- To defer GAAR by 2 Years.
- Yoga to be included as a Charitable Purpose.
- Government to raise visa-on-arrival facilities to 150 countries in different stages from the present number of 43 countries.
- AIIMS to be set up in J&K, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Assam.
- Investment in infrastructure to go up by Rs 70,000 crores.
- Allocation of Rs 150 Crore for creating a World Class IT Hub in India.
- Proposes 5 ultra mega power projects for 4,000 MW each.
- Power Sector : Subsidy and tax exemptions for stranded Gas Assets.
- Make in India policy for Defence Equipment : Allocation of Rs 246,727 crore for Defence.
- Additional Allocation of Rs 1,000 crore to Nirbhaya Fund.
- Govt to introduce Indian gold coin with Ashoka sign on it. A gold monetization scheme is proposed as India is the largest consumer of Gold in the world.
- World Heritage Sites to be made more tourist friendly.
- Aim for housing for all by 2022.
- Aim to make India a cashless society by providing incentives for card transactions.
- GDP growth for 2015-16 seen between 8-8.5%. Real GDP growth expected to accelerate to 7.4%
- Objective to keep inflation below 6%
- Budget Estimates :
Non-plan expenditure - Rs. 13,12,200
Plan expenditure - Rs. 4,65,277
Fiscal deficit - 3.9% of GDP
From India, Delhi
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