ICAI hopeful of taxpayer-friendly Union Budget with tax reductions
Urges business community to verify UDIN of I-T practitioners while claiming large refund on I-T returns
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The tax limit should be incrased slightly because the cost of living has burdened the employee class. An employee earning Rs 10 lakh salary does not want to fall under the bracket or tax slab of 20 or 30 per cent - Ponugoti Ravi Sankara Reddy, Chairman, SIRC
CAs’ Expectations:
- Std deduction limit rise up to 1 lakh
- Tax limit enhancement
- Avoidance of false refund claims
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad branch of Southern India Regional Council (SIRC), of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is foreseeing a tax payer friendly Budget with enhancement in the tax bracket and increase in standard deductions. The first comprehensive Union Budget of Modi 3.0 is set to be presented on July 23, 2024.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Summit, Ponugoti Ravi Sankara Reddy, Chairman, SIRC Hyderabad,ICAI, told Bizz Buzz that employees earning around Rs 10 lakh are short of options while claiming for deductions, which is not the case in business community. Besides standard deductions, many other deductions that were available in the old regime are now obsolete because of rationalisation of the limits; hence he expects an increase in standard deduction from Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 orRs 1 lakh. He said, “The tax limit should be enhanced slightly because the cost of living has burdened the employee class. An employee earning Rs 10 lakh salary does not want to fall under the bracket or tax slab of 20 or 30 per cent. Compared to business people, employees do not have many options of claiming deductions. At the end it depends on the Finance Minister, however we expect the Centre to take note of the plight of this employee class.”
According to the past Chairman of SIRC, M Devaraja Reddy, the first Budget post election, is expected to be positive with main focus on farmers, infrastructure and the middle class. “The Centre will take a cautious stance playing down on welfare.
For middle class, we are anticipating tax benefits and cut in interest rates, resulting in higher consumption,” he said.
On a query about the status of tax defaults in Hyderabad, Ravi Sankara Reddy told Bizz Buzz that few Income Tax practitioners are luring business people by assuring 90 per cent refund on I-T returns, from which these I-T practitioners are quoting a service feeof 10 per cent.
He said, “They are filing deductions with false documents. The business community should be aware of the repercussions they will have to face tomorrow after being caught by the regulators. So, I urge the business community to approach qualified CA to be rightly guided in minimising their tax within the limitations of tax laws.
After ICAI introduced Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) forCAssuch cases have come down, however the racket is yet present as some I-T practitioners are using fake UDIN, andgetting away.”
The Hyderabad branch of SIRC of ICAI has more than 30,000 CA students and around 13,700 professionals as members, of which 40 per cent are practicing CAs while others are working in various industries.
