Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the Union Budget 2025 that there will be no income tax for individuals earning up to ₹12 lakh annually under the new tax regime. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman or the Budget document does not mention the old tax regime. It means that the slabs in the old regime remain unchanged.
This announcement came as a pleasant surprise to the middle class as Nirmala Sitharaman is infamously known to impose taxes. She was trending online for this reason with netizens sharing memes.
An individual earning Rs 50 lakh per annum, will now be paying income tax of Rs 10,80,000 as per the revised slabs. This is Rs 1,10,000 less than what they currently pay. The move is seen with the intent of leaving more money in the hands of individuals to boost demand and consumption. The consumption stocks like Dmart was up 9.8%, Zomato rallied 6.4% and Swiggy rose 4.65%.
Apart from this, there was also big announcements on the TDS front, where the annual limit on rent was raised from Rs 2.40 lakh to Rs 6 lakh. This will benefit small taxpayers receiving smaller payments.
Reacting on the budget, Prime Minister said, “Today is an important milestone in India's development journey. This is the budget of aspirations of 140 crore Indians. This is a budget that fulfils the dreams of every Indian. We have opened many sectors for the youth. The common citizen is going to drive the mission of Viksit Bharat.”
He went on to add, “In this budget, income up to Rs 12 lakh per annum has been made tax-free. For all income groups, taxes have been reduced. It will hugely benefit our middle class. It will be an opportunity for the people who have recently joined the workforce.”
