Tax rates slashed

The Income tax rate has been slashed for the initial tax bracket of Rs 2.5 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs. What this means is that anybody above a taxable income of Rs 5 lakhs would most certainly save Rs 12,500 in taxes every year. This is a welcome move. Those under Rs 5 lakhs would save taxes to a lesser extent. The maximum one can save irrespective of the tax bracket is Rs 12,500 per year.

Income above Rs 50 lakhs now with surcharge

In case you have an income above Rs 50 lakhs, you would now have to pay a surcharge of 10 per cent. The Finance Minister has tried to compensate the benefit given under the Rs 2.5 lakhs to Rs 10 lakhs category.

No cash transactions above Rs 3 lakhs

The Union Budget 2017-18 has recommended that cash transactions above Rs 3 lakhs would not be permitted in cash. So, watch out for the new norms which come into force.

Buying and selling real estate

If you buy and sell real estate, you were subjected to a long term capital gains tax, if you sold after three years. Now, the same has been reduced to two years. This is good news as short term capital gains on shares applies for shares sold before one year, while there is no long term capital gains tax.

Railway e-bookings

The Union Budget has done away with the service tax on e-tickets booked through IRCTC, which will be withdrawn henceforth. So, you could now end-up saving 15 per cent of the ticket amount, if you book online.

Real estate may get a little cheaper

The Union Budget 2017-18 has announced an infrastructure status to affordable housing. This means those companies engaging in affordable housing could get loans cheaper as these companies would now have easy access to bank funding. This means they could pass that on to end-users, which could make real estate cheaper, though not necessarily.

A focus on healthcare

The government focussed heavily on healthcare. The Union Budget 2017-18 aims to eliminate kala-azar, filiarisis by 2017, leprosy by 2018, measles by 2020 and TB by 2025. Increased amount was earmarked for the healthcare sector, though there were no major concessions that were forthcoming.

Key boost for education

Education got a boost in the Union Budget 2017-18, with the government announcing a new AIIMS institute in the states of Jharkhand and Gujarat. There was also a proposal to launch a system of measuring learning in schools. The emphasis in the future would also be on science education and flexible curriculum.