Budget wishlist: Salaried class wants tax slabs raised

A vast majority of salaried class employees in a host of trade and industry sectors want Finance Minister P Chidambaram to raise the income tax exemption limit to at least Rs three lakh and increase deductions like medical and educational allowances in the Budget, an Assocham survey said.

The survey was conducted in major places like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Dehradun on 'Budget 2013: Common man's expectations from the FM', the industry body said.

Over 89 per cent of respondents said the slab of tax free income has not moved up in line with real inflation. The current basic exemption limit of Rs two lakh should be increased to at least Rs three lakh with the limit for women going up to Rs 3.5 lakh. This will increase the purchasing power of individuals and stimulate demand.

'Pushing the basic exemption limit the tax payers in saving taxes and will also align it with the proposals made by the Parliamentary standing committee on the Direct Taxes Code (DTC)', the survey noted.

With increasing healthcare costs, the existing tax free limit of Rs 15,000 should be increased to Rs 50,000, said 89 per cent of the respondents.

The transportation allowance granted by the employer to his employee for commuting between the place of work and residence is tax-free to the extent of Rs 800 per month. This limit was fixed more than a decade ago, and needs to be revised upwards to at least Rs 3,000 per month, given the rising commuting costs, added the survey.