Income tax exemption limit increased, corporate tax rate unchanged

New Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday proposed to increase the Income Tax exemption limit for senior citizens by Rs 15,000, for women and others by Rs 10,000 each, while keeping the corporate tax rate unchanged.

The exemption limit will now be Rs 240,000 for senior citizens, Rs 190,000 for women and Rs 160,000 for others. The 10 per cent surcharge on personal income tax has also been slashed. For women the exemption limit has been raised to 190,000 and for others the exemtion limit has been raised by Rs 10,000 to 160,000. He has also gone ahead and abolshed the fringe benefit tax. The Budget has also abolished the Commodities Transaction Tax.

Government stake in banks

The government will continue to hold at least 51 percent stake in the banks and insurance companies it owns, Finance said while presenting the union budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha Monday.

However, citing the average public float in listed entities - which is less than 15 percent - the finance minister said the government proposed to increase the non-promoter holding in listed companies.

Mukherjee also praised the late prime minister Indira Gandhi for nationalising bank and insurance companies, which insulated the Indian financial sector from the recent global slowdown.