Interest of up to ₹50,000 earned on fixed deposits by senior citizens will be exempted from taxation as against ₹10,000 earlier. Earlier it was ₹60,000 for senior citizens and ₹80,000 for very senior citizens. 4% health & education cess proposedMr. Jaitley proposed to replace the existing 3% education cess on personal income tax and corporation tax with a 4% 'Health and Education Cess' to take care of the education and health needs of the poor and rural families. The existing 3% education cess will be replaced by a 4% ‘Health and Education Cess’ to be levied on the tax payable. Standard deduction a “nominal benefit”Alok Agrawal, Senior Director, Deloitte India, termed the standard deduction a “nominal benefit”.

Source: The Hindu February 01, 2018 07:41 UTC