The new slabs are actually quite decent for a few people.
1) The retired: If you dont have an income and survive on just interest or gains from funds, the new slabs save you the need to reinvest earnings into ELSS options. (The idea of ELSS was to help you retire, not after!)
1) The retired: If you dont have an income and survive on just interest or gains from funds, the new slabs save you the need to reinvest earnings into ELSS options. (The idea of ELSS was to help you retire, not after!)
2) Taking a break or a sabattical: Might need to cash in on the investments, that earns you income but you have no salary or HUF. Again, helps your cash flow by takign the new slabs.
3) Those that smartly paid for their own house, have no housing loans and are living in their house. The new slabs save such a person 10K to 30K a year, and doesn't need them to invest in 80C related things. (This is good, we should reward such behaviour)
4) HUFs: HUFs have no salary income or suhc, but may earn from FDs or bonds or such. A HUF should take the new slabs for a lower tax payout
5) If you are a non-working member of the family but have income through, say, dividends, interest or even a small business, the new slabs are better and you can cut down cash outflows to 80C investments. Meaning you get more money to spend.
Also this is a good way to introduce the concept that if you shun your beloved exemptions, you will benefit. The more people that get this, the easier it is to remove exemptions and charge lower rates in the future for everyone.
So I've changed my view on the new slabs - they are definitely more complex (now that you have more options) but they do benefit a very large set of people. And I think it will help in changing behaviour and encourage more spending.
Note: For retirement savings I fully support a concept I call MERA - a retirement acccount that is fully exempt when you get in, but fully taxed if you take out money, or if you die. capitalmind.in/2019/06/budget…
