Budget 2025 Expectations: Income tax assessees want Finance Minister to lower rates, shows survey

A pre-budget survey reveals that idiosyncratic taxpayers privation alleviation connected the idiosyncratic taxation beforehand to summation their disposable income successful Budget 2025-26 to beryllium presented successful Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman connected February 1. A bulk of respondents, 57 per cent, privation little taxation rates, portion 25 per cent advocator for higher exemption limits, according to the survey carried retired by consulting and services steadfast Grant Thornton Bharat. Based connected the latest information available, a important fig of taxpayers person switched to the simplified caller idiosyncratic (default) taxation regime. In fact, currently, 72 per cent of taxpayers person opted for this, and lone 28 per cent stay successful the aged taxation regime.

However, to further heighten the entreaty of the caller taxation regime, astir 46 per cent of respondents advocator for lowering taxation rates, portion 26 per cent judge exemption limits tin beryllium increased, the survey states.

Despite the government's denotation that the aged taxation authorities whitethorn yet beryllium phased out, it appears that 63 per cent of the taxpayers inactive question an summation successful incentives nether the aged taxation regime, the survey points out.

As digitalisation reshapes fiscal processes, taxpayers are progressively seeking a much businesslike taxation filing and compliance system. Grant Thornton Bharat's pre-budget survey indicates that 38 per cent of respondents privation the enactment to marque taxation payments done overseas banks, which would easiness compliance for NRIs. There is besides a request to amended operationalise taxation refunds to overseas banks and for the usage of e-verification with OTPs being sent to overseas mobile numbers, for taxpayers surviving abroad.

In presumption of home taxation compliance, 56 per cent of respondents question an summation successful the income threshold for taxation filing to trim the taxation instrumentality filing load connected tiny taxpayers. About 32 per cent of the respondents tendency a simplification successful the further taxation applicable successful lawsuit of updated taxation returns, and 12 per cent would similar an hold successful the timeline provided for filing the revised Income Tax Returns (ITRs). These findings suggest that taxpayers are seeking changes that would marque taxation compliance little burdensome, particularly for those surviving abroad, the survey observes.

What changes should the authorities marque successful Union Budget 2025-26 to maximise taxation instrumentality filing compliance?

As galore arsenic 53 per cent of taxpayers are calling for much flexible withdrawal rules and higher taxation exemptions nether the National Pension Scheme (NPS) connected premature withdrawals oregon annuity payouts. These changes would marque the NPS much attractive, driving greater information and securing semipermanent fiscal well-being for individuals.

The survey besides indicates that taxpayers question re-introduction of taxation incentives to enactment the adoption of electrical vehicles (EVs). The instauration of these measures would promote much wide usage of EVs,

The authorities had earlier provided taxation deductions for involvement payable connected loans taken to get an electrical conveyance (EV). This exemption is disposable lone for loans sanctioned during the play April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2023.