The Union Minister of Finance Shri Arun
Jaitley in his Budget Speech in Lok Sabha today proposed rationalization of
various tax exemptions and incentives to reduce tax disputes and improve tax
administration. He said, with a view to encourage savings and to promote health
care among individual tax payers, it is proposed to increase the limit of
reduction of health insurance premium from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 and for
senior citizen this limit is increase from Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.
For senior citizen above the age of 80 years,
not eligible to take health insurance, deduction is allowed for Rs 30,000
toward medical expenditure. Deduction limit of Rs 60,000 on expenditure
on account of specified diseases is enhanced to Rs 80,000 in the case of senior
citizens.
Additional deduction of Rs 25,000 is allowed
for differently-abled persons, increasing the limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs
75,000. It is also proposed to increase the limit of deduction from Rs 1 lakh
to Rs 1.25 lakh in case of severe disability.
The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also
proposed to provide that investment in Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme will be
eligible for deduction under section 80C of the income-tax and any payment from
the scheme shall not be liable to tax.
Limit on deduction on account of contribution
to a pension fund and the new pension scheme is proposed to be increased from
Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Additional deduction of Rs 50,000 will be
allowed for contribution to the new pension scheme u/s 80 CCD increasing from
Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Details of tax deductions proposed are as follows:
|
·
|
Deduction u/s 80C
|
Rs 1,50,000
|
|
·
|
Deduction u/s 80CCD
|
Rs 50,000
|
|
·
|
Deduction on account of interest on house property loan (Self
occupied property)
|
Rs 2,00,000
|
|
·
|
Deduction u/s 80D on health insurance premium
|
Rs 25,000
|
|
·
|
Exemption of transport allowance
|
Rs 19,200
|
|
|
Total
|
Rs 4,44,200
|
Source : pib.nic.in
