New Delhi. If you are asked which announcement you are most waiting for in the Budget , then perhaps your answer will be the same as that of crores of other Indians. Yes, we are talking about the announcement of income tax exemption, which is awaited the most in every budget.

This time too, after the formation of the new government, the budget ( Budget 2024 ) is likely to be presented in the month of July, and again people are hopeful that this time the government will definitely give concession in income tax.

There has never been any tax concession in the last 9 years of Modi government's budget, but this time people have a lot of expectations from the coalition Modi government. Last time in the budget of 2017-18, the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley did make some changes in the tax slab. Then he reduced the rate of 10% on income of Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh to 5%.

Along with this, the existing exemption under section 87A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (which was given to those having income up to Rs 5 lakh) was reduced from Rs 5,000 to Rs 2,500 for taxpayers having income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh.

Since independence, the income tax rates have been changed many times. Now that the budget is about to be presented once again, it would be interesting to know when and what changes have been made in the income tax since independence.

How much has the tax system changed since independence

• After 26 January 1950, i.e. after the first Republic Day, India started making its own budget and tax system. Many changes were made in it from time to time.
• The first change in the tax slab was in 1949-50. This year, the income of Rs 10,000 was reduced to one-fourth of 1 anna. Let us tell you that at that time, 1 rupee was divided into 16 annas.
• The biggest change in the tax system happened in the year 1974-75. This year the tax rates of all the slabs of income were reduced. This year income up to Rs 60,000 was made tax-free. Apart from this, the surcharge limit of every income was reduced to 10 percent. This year the rate of property tax was increased.
• In the financial year 1985-86, the Finance Minister of the country was V.P.Singh. V.P.Singh reduced the existing tax slabs in the tax system from 8 to 4. Apart from this, the maximum limit of tax was also reduced from 61.87 percent to 50 percent.
• The tax system we know today, also known as the Old Tax Regime, was created by Finance Minister Manmohan Singh. Manmohan Singh introduced this system in the year 1992-93. In this, the tax slabs were reduced from 4 to 3.

Manmohan Singh also changed the tax system

Manmohan Singh was the Finance Minister in the year 1992-93. He made a big change in the tax system. This year income up to Rs 30,000 was made tax free. Apart from this, the tax slab was also reduced from 4 to 3.

According to this system, 20% tax will be levied on income up to Rs 50,000, 30% tax on income from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh and 40% tax on income above Rs 1 lakh. After this, there was no change in the income tax rate for 2 years. However, some changes were made in the tax slab.

P. Chidambaram presented dream budget

P. Chidambaram was the Finance Minister of the country in the financial year 1997-98. This year he presented the dream budget. In this budget, the tax rate was made simple and income up to Rs 40,000 was made tax free. Apart from this, the limit of standard deduction was increased. If a taxpayer deposits 10 percent of his total salary in PF and his salary is Rs 75,000, then he is also given tax exemption.

There were no major changes in the tax system for almost 10 years after the financial year 1997-98. However, in the budget of 2005-06, income up to Rs 1 lakh was made tax free. After 5 years, Pranab Mukherjee changed the tax slab in the year 2010-11. This year the tax limit was increased to Rs 1.6 lakh.

A big change also happened in the year 2014

In 2014, the BJP government came to power at the centre. This year Arun Jaitley took over the reins of the finance ministry. In the budget presented in 2014, wealth tax was abolished and a surcharge of 2% was imposed in its place. This surcharge was imposed on people earning more than Rs 1 crore.

In the year 2017-18, income up to Rs 2.5 lakh was made tax free. Apart from this, changes were also made in the tax rebate system.