While distributing relief to the salaried, Pranabda made a few concessions for senior citizens. The finance minister announced on Friday that senior citizens will no longer be required to pay advance tax if they are not running "a business/profession". Along with this, he increased the deduction against the premium paid to buy medical insurance to Rs 20,000 from the earlier Rs 15,000.
The second change will help save the elderly an additional amount of Rs 1,500 if their income falls in the highest tax slab. And the first will help in reducing the compliance burden on senior citizens. The finance minister also increased the deduction for medical treatment of a senior citizen to Rs 60,000 from Rs 40,000. And while at it, he allowed a tax exemption of up to Rs 5,000 for preventive health check-ups.
Dr Pratap Reddy, CMD of Apollo Hospital, hailed the exemption for health checks, saying it would encourage early detection of diseases — particularly cancer, heart ailments and diabetes, which are on the rise — and help trim the expense burden.
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