The corporate tax for companies with a turnover of less than Rs 50 crore will be slashed to 25 per cent from 30 per cent. Finance minister Jaitley said 96 per cent of the companies - numbering 6.67 lakh - that filed their returns in 2015-16 "will get the benefit of lower taxation". The budget did little to enliven market investors, big industry and the rich who were expecting big stimulus measures to kick-start a faltering economy. Firms will now be allowed to claim expenditure in cash only up to Rs 10,000 and cash donations to charities have been limited to Rs 2,000. Government sources said the objective was not to detonate a big bang but build on the recent trend of "putting budget back into budget".

Source: The Telegraph February 01, 2017 22:26 UTC