Sitharaman will present the income tax budget for 2025 without using paper.
LIVE 2025 Income Tax Budget: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will use a smart tablet, housed in a traditional ‘bhai-khatam-style pouch, to announce the seventh consecutive budget on Saturday.
Instead of carrying a budget briefcase, as was the colonial habit, Sitharaman decided to carry the Union Budget documents in a traditional ‘bahi-khata’ in July 2019. She continued this practice the following year, and when the pandemic hit in 2021, she used a digital tablet to deliver her speech and other budget materials rather than the traditional paper ones. This tradition is still observed on Saturdays.
The base year for properties bought before April 1, 2001, with a CII of 100, is April 1, 2001. This helps taxpayers determine a property’s fair market value on that date and apply indexation correctly.
One advantage of indexation is that it guarantees that only real, inflation-adjusted capital gains are taxable.
- Prevents disproportionate tax burdens on taxpayers caused by inflation-driven price increases.
- Makes asset retention financially viable, which lowers speculative trading.
- By encouraging a tax-friendly investment environment, it draws in both domestic and foreign investors.
- Equal indexation calculations improve transparency and easy compliance.
- Offers middle-class investors and long-term asset holders a break.
