Central Board of direct taxes is soon planning to notify tax exemption for as many as 85 lakh salaried tax payers whose taxable income including salary and interest income is up to 5 lakhs.

After the notification by the board, people coming under the above criteria wouldn’t be required to file the income tax return, but this proposed exemption would not cover income from other sources like house property, capital gains and gains from profession and business.

The scheme would be applicable from assessment year 2011-12 onwards. This means that salaried persons eligible under the scheme would not have to file returns for the financial year 2010-11 in 2011-12. Under the scheme, those salaried persons who want to claim tax refund,would have to income tax file return. As per the Memorandum to the Finance Bill 2011, the government will be issuing a notification exempting ‘classes of persons’ from the requirement of furnishing returns.

Report by Reuben