Do Taxpayers in India is Getting any Benefits from the Government?

The income tax department gives out detailed data on tax return filers each year. It has been going on from the assessment year 2012-13, or AY13, onwards. The data for AY1 has been recently published. AY19 dabbles in income earned during the fiscal year 2017-18, or FY18, (i.e. the period between the months of April 2017 and March 2018).

The data provides a number of key insights about the great Indian taxpayer.  You can get the details of the same from the auditors in Chennai. As per the data, only around ₹37,400 crores is generated as far as income from house property in a year (via rents after adjusting for home loan interest and so on) in the entire country, which shows that most of the transactions are still cash-based and outside the paradigm of the tax net. The declared salary income, however, is more than double the size of the declared individual business income, which puts a wrench in the theory about the purview of the salaried middle class.

When it comes to individual income tax, there are different types of income that are taxed. This includes salaried income, the income coming from the house property, business income, and interest income. The individual-declared total income during the AY19 stood at Rs.34.1 trillion. Of this RS 20 trillion, or the bulk of the income was declared by the salaried income. 

The government announced an income tax rebate for the salaried people to be Rs 12,500 under Section 87A of the Income Tax Act. Earlier, the rebate was Rs 2,500. This available rebate is Rs 5 lakh a year.

This spells out zero tax for annual income up to Rs 5 lakh. There is an exemption from income tax on annual income amounting to Rs 2.50 lakh. This exemption can extend up to Rs 3 lakh in the case of senior citizens.

The standard deduction by the government was up to Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 and it increased the income tax rebate under Section 87A income-tax Act.

Besides, there is another deduction up to Rs 1.5 lakh under section 80C for investments made in instruments such as Public Provident Fund and the expenses incurred on children's education fees and stamp duty paid for the house registration.

Investment up to Rs 50,000 in the national pension scheme makes for additional tax deduction Section 80CCD(1B) of the Income Tax Act.

However, the income tax slabs were not changed until February's interim budget. There is zero tax on income amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh, beyond this tax rate it is 5 percent on income up to Rs 5 lakh amounting to Rs 12,500.

But with the government providing a rebate of the exact amount, there is no tax payable on income up to Rs 5 lakh. But such assessees are required to file their income tax returns every year. If they don't, the Income Tax Department may send notices for the same.

Twenty percent income tax is levied if the amount comes to Rs 5 lakh but not exceeding Rs 10 lakh a year. Income tax liability may turn out to be Rs 1 lakh in this slab.

An annual income of more than 30 lakhs calls for a 30 percent income tax. Plus, four percent cess on income tax is levied.