While unveiling the Interim Budget 2019 on Friday February 1, acting Finance Minister Piyush Goyal made a serious effort to win over rural and urban votes. Through his shrill election pitch on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of General Elections due this May, FM Goyal opened a bag of goodies for the middle-class.
While some termed it as an election Budget, there is another school of thought which saw the tax relief for the lower middle class as substantial. The salaried class and vast swathes of India with moderate salaries got major relief, particularly in the form of income tax breaks.
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Here’s what the Budget 2019 has got for the Middle class
- No Income Tax for those earning under Rs 5 lakh.
- Individuals with gross income up to Rs. 6.5 lakh will not need to pay any tax if they make investments in provident funds and prescribed equities.
- TDS threshold on rental income raised from Rs 1.8 lakh to Rs 2.4 lakh.
- Gratuity increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
- Benefits under Section 80(i)BA extended for another year for all housing projects approved till the end of 2019-2020.
- No tax on notional rent on a second self-occupied house
- Standard Tax Deduction for salaried class raised to Rs 50,000 from Rs 40,000.
- TDS threshold on interest on bank and post office deposits raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000.
- For lower income earning employees in the unorganised sector, Rs 3000 per month pension scheme announced after the age of 60
Piyush Goyal presented the interim budget at 11 am today for the financial year 2019-20. Both the houses of Parliament- the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, will remain in session till February 13 for the Budget Session, which began on Thursday. A total of 10 sittings are slated to take place.
