Financial decisions rarely happen in a vacuum. They respond to what is unfolding in the economy, in policy, and in the markets around us — which is precisely why Ashutosh Financial Services makes it a point to bring these developments to its clients and the wider community in plain, usable terms. Understanding the “why” behind a policy change, the team believes, is what turns information into genuinely informed decision-making.
That belief shaped the recent session, “Analysis of Union Budget 2024-25 – Income Tax and Investment Viewpoint,” held on 27th July 2024 across Rajkot and Ahmedabad for a global audience of investors and financial planning enthusiasts. The session was led by Daxesh Kothari and CA, CFP Rajit Kothari, who walked attendees through the Union Budget’s economic backdrop before moving into its direct implications for personal taxation and investment planning.
The session opened by placing this year’s budget in historical context, drawing a comparison to the landmark 1991 budget presented by then Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, when India had to mortgage gold reserves to raise foreign exchange. Over three decades later, the picture looks markedly different: stronger tax collections, a healthier RBI dividend, and a more resilient economy overall. To ground this shift in data rather than sentiment, the speakers reviewed comparative figures on GDP growth, inflation, and interest rate movements across the world’s twenty largest economies, noting that India’s growth rate and macroeconomic indicators continued to compare favourably against both developed and emerging markets. Related data points — including currency depreciation trends, crude oil price movements, forex reserves, GST collections, and the balance between foreign and domestic institutional investment — were used to build a fuller picture of the conditions in which this year’s budget was framed.
From there, the discussion turned to the budget’s own highlights: a rising direct tax-to-GDP ratio attributed to better compliance and technology-driven administration, increased defence spending with a growing emphasis on indigenous production, and higher targets for disinvestment in public sector undertakings. The speakers also touched on the reduction in import duty on gold and silver, plans to digitise land records, and the proposed introduction of a new Direct Taxes Code intended to simplify and modernise the existing Income Tax Act.
The heart of the session, however, was the set of changes to personal and investment taxation. The speakers explained that tax rates under the old regime remain unchanged, while the new regime under Section 115BAC now offers wider income slabs, meaning effectively no tax is payable up to an income of seven lakh rupees after applicable rebate. Several limits were also revised — the standard deduction for salaried individuals has been raised from fifty thousand to seventy-five thousand rupees, and the deduction employers can claim for contributions to an employee’s National Pension System account has increased from ten to fourteen percent of salary.
A significant portion of the session was devoted to capital gains taxation, an area that saw some of the more consequential revisions. Short-term capital gains on listed securities such as equity shares and equity mutual funds now attract tax at twenty percent, up from fifteen, while long-term gains on the same assets are taxed at twelve and a half percent, up from ten, though the exemption threshold has also been raised. For unlisted assets, including physical gold, real estate, and unlisted stocks, the long-term holding period required to qualify for concessional tax treatment has been shortened to twenty-four months, and the indexation benefit — which previously adjusted the purchase cost for inflation — has been withdrawn in favour of a flat lower rate. Using worked examples on gold and real estate transactions, the speakers illustrated how removing indexation can still result in a lower final tax outgo in many cases, despite the higher headline rate, helping attendees understand the practical trade-off rather than just the rate change on paper.
Other notable changes discussed included the taxation of share buybacks as dividend income in the hands of shareholders from October 2024, a higher disclosure threshold under the Black Money Act for undisclosed foreign assets, and several revisions to TDS rates and timelines affecting professionals, partnership firms, and property transactions above fifty lakh rupees.
Sessions like this one reflect a simple conviction: that financial confidence grows out of clarity, not complexity. Budget announcements can be dense and easy to misread in isolation, and the value of unpacking them collectively — with real numbers and real scenarios — is that attendees leave with a clearer sense of how policy translates into their own financial planning. Ashutosh Financial Services intends to continue offering this kind of grounded, education-first engagement as future budgets and policy changes unfold.
