‘Trust first, scrutinise later,’ says Finance Minister as new IT regime comes into force – The Tribune-OxBig News Network

Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the philosophy of “trust first, scrutinise later”, while rolling out the new income tax regime on Tuesday.

In comments to The Tribune, she said, “We have reposed faith in the middle class and continued the trend of giving relief in tax burden to the common man (taxpayer).”

On February 1, the Finance Minister, while presenting the Union Budget in the Parliament, had proposed an across-the-board change in tax slabs and rates to benefit all taxpayers, which came into force from April 1.

Sharing details, Sitharaman said under the new IT regime, there will be no income tax payable up to income of Rs 12 lakh per annum, with an average income of Rs 1 lakh per month other than special rate income such as capital gains.

She said the limit of no tax will be Rs 12.75 lakh for the salaried tax payers, following the standard deduction of Rs 75,000. “Besides the benefit from the slab rate reduction, the tax rebate has been provided in such a manner that there is no tax payable by the salaried class on their annual income of Rs 12.75 lakh,” she divulged.

Claiming that the new IT structure will substantially reduce the tax burden on the middle class, Sitharaman said the government aims to leave more money in their hands to boost household consumption, savings and investment.

“The new IT regime will carry forward the spirit of ‘Nyaya’. It will be simple to understand for taxpayers and tax administration, and will lead to tax certainty and reduced litigation,” Sitharaman said, while hoping that key tax reforms will realise the vision of “Viksit Bharat” as conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Asserting that the new IT rules exhibit the Modi-led government’s commitment to understand and address the needs of common man, the Finance Minister said these reforms will also help achieve good governance, benefitting the people, economy and the country at large.

Sitharaman also said that the government was accountable, responsive and transparent in providing good governance.

“Just as living beings live expecting rains, people live expecting good governance,” the FM added, while quoting verse 542 from The Thirukkural, a classic Tamil text on commoner’s morality.

In a major relief to those earning up to Rs 12 lakh per annum, the government rolled out the new Income Tax regime, as proposed in the Union Budget 2025-26, from Tuesday.

The salaried class will, however, not be required to pay tax on the annual income of Rs 12.75 lakh, which included standard deduction of Rs 75,000.

The across-the-board change in the Income Tax slabs brought by the government will lead to tax slab rate reduction and rebates, resulting in substantial tax relief to the middle class and boosting household consumption expenditure and investment.

New Tax Regime

SLAB                      TAX

0-4 lakh                   Nil

4-8 lakh                   5%

8-12 lakh                 10%

12-16 lakh               15%

16-20 lakh               20%

20-24 lakh               25%

Above 24 lakh        30%