Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a Seminar on Budget Analysis 2018 today for the tax professionals, concerned office Staff/ accountants and tax payers and public at large.

• In the Seminar, guest speaker CA Shri Saurabh Soparkar explained that long term capital gains earned up to 31^st January 2018 are grand fathered, thereafter chargeable at 10%.
• He also explained that while selling land or building below jantri price and the difference is more than 5% of the jantri price; then difference of sales price and jantri price becomes income in the hands of buyer as well as seller and liable to pay taxes on the same.
• He also told that under MAT (Minimum Alternate Tax as per section 115JB), business loss as per books or unabsorbed depreciation whichever is lower, was allowed earlier.

Now as per this budget, both will be allowed.

• For newly employed employees, additional deduction of 30% is allowed for first year and second year. The condition is employment should be for 240 days for other industries or 150 days for seasonal industries. The logic behind allowing second year is for allowing the benefits for those employees who are being hired at the end of the year.
• For senior citizens, interest on Bank / Post deposits up to ₹50,000/- is not taxable and no TDS shall be deducted.
• For senior citizens, as per section 80D, Mediclaim limit increased from ₹30,000/- to ₹50,000/-; whereas as per section 80DDB, dependents with specified deceases limit increased from ₹60,000/- to ₹1,00,000/-.
• Concept of Standard Deduction introduced with a limit of ₹40,000/- is welcome relief for salaried people.

Shri Soparkar concluded the session by sharing his observation since number of years’ budget experience that “this is for the first time the Budget is not over ruling any judgement”. The government this time has not made any retrospective change and only brought prospective changes. The budget is neither growth driven nor hindrance to the growth of economy.