CBDT chief says 88 per cent of individual taxpayers have opted for new tax regime

New Delhi: As many as 88 per cent of individual taxpayers have moved to the new tax regime and the federal government will not be considering of bringing in a sundown clause for submitting revenue tax returns below the previous regime, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal mentioned on Wednesday.

He mentioned choosing a selected tax regime is the selection of the taxpayers, however the response to the new regime has been “superb”.

“I can inform you that when ITR 1, 2, 3 and 4 are taken collectively (revenue tax return types utilized by people), about 88 per cent of folks have moved to the new tax regime.

“And insofar as presumptive tax instances, about 97 per cent of the taxpayers have moved to the new tax regime. For corporates, about 60 per cent of the revenue is now being mirrored within the new tax regime,” Agrawal instructed PTI throughout a post-Finances interview.

We consider, he mentioned, with the new MAT (minimal alternate tax) provisions coming within the FY27 Finances, “it should additionally persuade folks to maneuver to the new tax regime”.

MAT, meant solely for corporations, is calculated on the price of 15 per cent of e-book revenue and is chargeable solely when it’s greater than the tax on revenue. The Finances has proposed MAT to be the ultimate tax and has diminished the speed from 15 to 14 per cent for corporations within the previous regime.

Requested concerning the hike in STT (securities and transaction tax) proposed within the FY27 funds, the CBDT chief mentioned it’s hoped that this can “definitely dissuade retail buyers from very aggressively taking on this train”. “Solely time would inform how a lot it might curb, however that is an try from the division and the federal government to really not less than tackle this situation and flag this situation,” he mentioned.

The Finances 2026-27 has proposed a rise in STT on futures contracts to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent. STT on choices premium and train of choices are proposed to be raised to 0.15 per cent from the current price of 0.1 per cent and 0.125 per cent, respectively.

Agrawal mentioned he was assured about assembly the direct taxes assortment goal for the 2025-26 fiscal that has been revised to Rs 24.21 lakh crore within the Finances.

The previous tax regime refers back to the revenue tax calculation and slabs that existed earlier than the introduction of the new tax regime in 2020. The previous tax regime has greater tax charges, however taxpayers get the choice to assert varied tax deductions and exemptions. In distinction, the new regime gives decrease tax charges and permits full exemption for these incomes as much as Rs 15 lakh a yr.