High income group to pay high taxes

New Delhi, July 05: The government has asked the high income group to contribute more to the India's development.

Presenting the General Budget 2019-20 in the Parliament today, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman said, "In view of rising income levels, those in the highest income bracket need to contribute more to the Nation's development".

With this the effective tax rates for the higher income group individuals having taxable income from Rs. 2 crore to Rs. 5 crore and Rs. 5 crore and above is proposed to be increased by around 3 percent and 7 percent respectively.

The General Budget 2019-20 also proposes to make return filing compulsory for persons, who have deposited more than Rs. 1 crore in a current account in a year, or who have spent more than Rs. 2 lakh on foreign travel or more than Rs. 1 lakh on electricity consumption in a year or who fulfils the prescribed conditions, in order to ensure that persons who enter into high value transactions also furnish return of income.

It is also proposed to provide that a person whose income becomes lower than maximum amount not chargeable to tax due to claim of rollover benefit of capital gains shall also be required to furnish the return.

Referring to several measures taken in the past to alleviate the tax burden on small and medium income earners, Sitharaman said, "Those having annual income upto Rs. 5 lakh are not required to pay any income tax". This includes self-employed as well as small traders, salary earners, and senior citizens, she added.