Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the interim Union Budget 2024 on February 1 this year, and some additional tax waivers and exemptions are expected at the lowest level for the Old Tax Regime, reported Business Standard.
Some additional tax waivers and exemptions at the lowest level, only in the Old Tax Regime are expected to be announced during the presentation of the interim Budget 2024, a senior government official told Business Standard.
It is expected that the new changes in the Old Tax Regime will include some additional measures for women farmers and an income tax exemption rates close to ₹7 lakh, the report said.
However, it is projected that the new measures, along with the announcements to improve the direct taxes, will not hurt the fiscal deficits of the government. No concrete announcements regarding the same have been made by the government yet.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the interim budget next month, and it has already been made clear by the Centre that there will be no “spectacular announcements” on February 1, since the budget will only be presented for vote-on-account.
The complete Union Budget 2024 will be presented by the finance minister in July, after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are declared and the new government cabinet has taken charge.
Interim Budget 2024: What can we expect
FM Sitharaman has said previously that no major tax announcements or changes to policy will be presented in the Union Budget 2024 on February 1. This budget is only being implemented in an interim capacity, for the first quarter of the new financial year.
The finance minister said earlier, “It is a matter of truth that the February 1, 2024, Budget that will be just be a vote on account… we will be in election mode… so the Budget will just be to meet the expenditure no spectacular announcements are made at that time.”
It is expected that the interim budget will only include the Economic Survey, estimates for upcoming financial year, and vote-on-account in Parliament on immediate expenses like salaries of government employees or funding of ongoing projects.