Govt to move to exemption-free I-T regime with lower taxes: Revenue Secy

A day after the Budget announcement of a revamped personal income tax regime, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on Thursday said the government would eventually like to move to a simple and exemption-free tax structure with lower rates.

According to an analysis by the Revenue Department, an individual earning Rs 15 lakh in a year will have to claim deductions of at least Rs 3.75 lakh under the old tax regime, otherwise the new revamped tax regime with lower rates proposed in 2023-24 will be more beneficial.

In an interview to PTI, Malhotra said the government does not have any specific timeline to make the new regime mandatory for taxpayers.

"We would like to move towards a lower tax rate, which is simple and without tax exemptions," Malhotra said.

The Budget has proposed changes to the new optional tax regime which provides that no tax would be levied on people with annual income of up to Rs 7 lakh. It also allowed taxpayers to claim standard deduction of Rs 50,000 under the new .