“Coming to personal income tax rates, I have two announcements to make for those opting for the new tax regime. First, the standard deduction for salaries employees is proposed to be increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000. Similarly, deduction on family pension for pensioners is proposed to be enhanced from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000. This will provide relief to about 4 crore salaries individuals and pensioners,” says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“Second, in the new tax regime, the tax rate structure is proposed to be revised as follows: Rs 0-3 lakh - Nil; Rs 3-7 lakh - 5%; Rs 7-10 lakh - 10%; Rs 10-12 lakh - 15%; Rs 12-15 lakh - 20%; and Rs 15 lakh and above - 30%,” she adds.