Important Budget Highlights - 2013
Income Tax
· No change in tax rates / slabs at 10, 20, 30% and education cess at 3%.
· Tax credit of Rs. 2,000 against personal income tax liability for income between Rs 2 lac to Rs 5 lac, making effective maximum exemption limit being enhanced from Rs 2 lac to Rs 2.20 lac. This is a benefit of Rs 2,000 being extended to individual tax payers with taxable income of up to Rs 5 lac.
· Surcharge of 10 per cent on non-corporate taxable incomes above Rs. 1 crore, a new form of super rich tax which is supposed to be for this year only.
· 5 to 10 per cent surcharge on domestic companies whose taxable income exceeds Rs 10 crore
· First time availing home loan during 2013-14 of upto Rs 25 lakh would entitle assessee to claim additional deduction of interest of up to Rs 1 lakh over and above existing Rs. 1.5 lac. Also, if the deduction limit is not exhausted, the balance may be carried forward and claimed until 2015-16.
· Income limit for eligibility for deductions on account of the tax-saving under Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme is raised to Rs. 12 lakh from Rs. 10 lakh
· To be eligible for deduction under section 80C, the cap limit of 10% has been increased to 15% for policyholders with disabilities as life insurers typically charge a higher premium citing higher risk.
Custom Duty
· Duty-free limits raised to Rs 50,000 for men and Rs 1,00,000 for women.
· High-end luxury motor vehicles, motorcycles and yacht will attract 100 per cent import duty, up from 75 per cent
Excise Duty
· Excise duty on SUVs to be increased to 30 per cent from 27 per cent, except for taxis.
· 18% rise in excise duty on Cigarettes, cigars and cheroots
Service Tax
· Service tax on all A/C restaurants
· One-time voluntary compliance scheme for about 10 lac service tax defaulters
Real Estate
· TDS at 1% on real estate deals over Rs 50 lakh except for agriculture land.
Tax Reforms
· Direct Taxes Code (DTC) bill to be introduced in current Parliament session
· Modified GAAR norms to be introduced from April 1, 2016.
