Old vs New Income Tax regime: Which is better? Here's what former FM P Chidambaram says

As the union budget for 2023 was presented on February 1 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, discussions over the new and old income tax regimes among citizens has erupted. In her presentation of the Union Budget 2023, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled an increase in the income tax rebate limit under the new income tax system from 5 lakh to 7 lakh.

She continued by saying that the new tax system will now be used by default. Regarding taxpayers who were subject to the previous tax system, no announcement was made, though. The budget, according to former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, "betrayed" the hopes of most Indians. Additionally, he claimed that the Budget lacked the public's urgently required tax relief.

Chidambaram claimed on Twitter that saving money is no longer important in developing nations. "My regret is, in this hullabaloo about OTR and NTR, the importance of PERSONAL SAVINGS in a developing country has been jettisoned," read his tweet.

In the absence of a State-provided safety net for the vast majority of people, personal savings is the only social security

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram) February 2, 2023

He added that, for the huge majority of people, personal savings serve as the only form of social security in the apparent lack of a state-provided safety net. Additionally, Chidambaram suggested reducing the number of tax slabs to 5 and raising the threshold for tax exemptions to 3 lakh in order to alter the tax structure under this regime, Mint reported.

Chidambaram also tweeted, "If you are a taxpayer, don't rush to conclusions. Do your math, consult a Chartered Accountant." 

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