UdupiUnion Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that the Narendra Modi government has provided several tax benefits to middle class people, including income tax exemption for those earning up to Rs 7.27 lakh per annum. Asserting that the government has not left out any section of the society, he referred to the skepticism in some circles when the Union Budget for 2023-24 decided to provide income tax exemption for those earning up to Rs 7 lakh .
The doubt, he said, was about what would happen to the earnings of a little over Rs 7 lakh. “So, we sat down as a team and went into details (to find out) at what level tax do you pay for every additional Rs 1… (for example) Rs 7.27 lakh Now, you don’t pay any tax. Break-even comes only at Rs 27,000. After that, you start paying tax.”
“You also have the standard deduction of Rs 50,000. Under the new scheme, the complaint was that there was no standard deduction. It is now given. We have brought simplification on the payment rate and compliance side,” Sitharaman said.
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Under the new regime, no income tax has to be paid on annual income up to Rs 7 lakh, which effectively rises to Rs 7.27 lakh with marginal relief provisions.
Standard deduction of Rs 50,000 has also been introduced under the new income tax regime.
there is… pic.twitter.com/xsfQYwGmDv— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) 14 July 2023
Speaking about the achievements of the government, he said that the total budget for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has increased to Rs 22,138 crore for 2023-24 as compared to Rs 3,185 crore in 2013-14.
He said that this is an increase of almost seven times in the budgetary allocation in nine years, which symbolizes the unwavering commitment of the Government to empower the MSME sector. Under the scheme ‘Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises’, he said that 33 per cent of the total purchases made by 158 Central Public Sector Enterprises have been made from MSMEs and this is the highest ever.
“We launched the TReDS platform (Trade Receivables Discounting System) so that MSMEs and other corporates do not face liquidity crunch due to non-payment by their buyers,” he said.
Sitharaman said that ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) has enabled MSME businesses to reach out to a large potential customer base and added that the world appreciates that India has created a public platform equivalent to the ‘Amazon of the world’ is installed.
Pointing out that India’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business are being acknowledged on the global platform, the minister said the country’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index has improved from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019. Has been.
“We have reduced unnecessary compliance burden by repealing over 1,500 archaic laws and nearly 39,000 compliances. The Companies Act has been decriminalised,” he said. The Finance Minister also inaugurated the Common Facility Center (CFC) at the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewelery (IIGJ) at Udupi.
In 2017, while serving as the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Sitharaman had laid the foundation stone of IIGJ in Udupi. The facility has been set up with the support of his MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) funds as well as the Gem and Jewelery Export Promotion Council and National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
The institute will provide training to the youth of the region in various aspects of handmade jewelery making. Earlier in the day, Sitharaman visited the Adamar Math and Sri Krishna Temple in Udupi.