COVID-19 has badly hit the economy particularly the salaried employees. The  pandemic has forced organizations to ask their employees to Work From Home.

Like every year taxpayers have high expectations from this year's budget too. The union budget is expected to hold several good news for the salaried class as the Centre is focusing on giving maximum relaxation to taxpayers.  Union Budget 2022-23 Likely to Give More Incentives to Boost Startups, Say Sources

Under unprecedented circumstances, employees not only had to spend extra to protect themselves and their families from Covid-19 but also undertake several additional expenses like internet and telephone charges, furniture to set up home office, extra electricity bills etc. Before the pandemic, employees didn’t have to bother about the latter expenses as all necessary things for work were provided by the office.

Here is a list of what the salaried class can expect from the union budget.

Under the current work from home (WFH) setup due to COVID pandemic, the expenditure of people on electricity, internet charges, rent, furniture etc. has increased. Many employers are giving allowances to the employees for carrying out office work from home. People are demanding such allowances should be exempted from income tax as it will give a big relief for the employed people. Something related to this is also expected in the union budget

Currently, the standard deduction under section 16 is fixed at Rs 50,000 for salaried classes. Deloitte India had recommended it to be increased to 1 lakh. The Working class is expecting a change in this regard in the upcoming union budget. If the standard deduction is increased, the salaried class will get direct tax benefits. This is because a major part of the total income tax revenue of the government comes from TDS of the salaried people.

Amid the Corona pandemic, the number and volume of Life Insurances have also increased. Therefore, taxpayers are now expecting an exemption in this matter. There is a demand to make insurance taken due to Corona tax-free for 5 -10 years. People are expecting the limit of 80C could be increased overall in the upcoming budget.   Union Budget 2022-23: Parliament Session To Commence on January 31

Taxpayers are also expecting exemption in GST on insurance / mediclaim premium. According to reports, this demand can be included in the budget.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 14, 2022 08:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).