Income tax sops in budget for 2014-15, smokers will pay more

The budget for 2014-15 today doled out sops to income tax payers by raising the threshold exemption limit from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh and investments under 80C by Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh while seeking to revive growth, manufacturing and investor confidence.
Without tinkering with the tax rates, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his maiden budget provided encouraging signals for domestic and foreign investors offering not to "ordinarily" bring about any tax change retrospectively which creates a fresh liability.
In a bid to encourage savings, the budget raised the deduction limit on interest on housing loan for self-occupied property from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh and raised the exemption limit in the case of senior citizens from Rs.2.5 lakh to Rs.3 lakh.

However, there is no no change in rate of surcharge either for the corporates or individuals and the education cess of three per cent will also continue.
Baggage allowance for passengers returning from abroad has been raised from from Rs 35,000 to Rs 45,000.
The Budget makes cigarettes, tobacco, pan-masala, gutka and cold-drinks costlier by raising excise duties while CRT TVs used by poor, LCD and LED TV panels of less than 19-inches will be cheaper through cuts in customs duties.
Direct tax proposals in the budget involve a sacrifice of Rs 22,200 crore while indirect tax proposals will yield a revenue of Rs 7,525 crore.