The Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman proposed tax relief for the people earning Rs 5-7.5 lakhs. She slashed the income tax rates from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.
Announcing it she said, "We propose to bring a personal income tax regime, where income tax rates will be reduced, so now, a person earning between Rs 5-7.5 lakhs will be required to pay tax at 10% against current 20%."
She also went on to say, "In this new personal income tax regime, income tax rates will be significantly reduced for the individuals who forgo certain exemptions and deductions."
As per Sitharaman, a person earning Rs 15 lakh per annum and not availing any deductions will now pay Rs 1.95 lakh tax in place of Rs 2.73 lakh. She also revealed that around 70 of more than 100 income tax deductions and exemptions have been removed, in order to simplify tax system and lower tax rates.