Senior citizen not to be exempt from tax

New Delhi, Mar 7: The Government today (Mar 7, 2006) ruled out any tax exemption for the senior citizens.

However, it has introduced a simplified return form for tax payers who do not have income from business or profession, capital gains or agriculture.

''It is not necessary to exempt pensioners above the age of 70 from filing income tax returns,'' Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

He said under the exisiting provisions of the income tax act, a senior citizen is defined as a person who is at least 65 years of age.

The proposal to reduce the existing age-limit was examined during the exercise for the Union Budget 2006-07 and it was not considered feasible to reduce the same, the Minister said.

UNI