The Union Budget 2016-17 has been announced with an emphasis on the rural and agricultural sector. Here are things that have got costlier and cheaper.

# If you are earning Rs 5 lakhs, you will get an increased tax rebate of Rs 3000.

# If you are paying rent and do not own a house, you get a tax relief of up to Rs 60,000 by way of HRA.

# Looking to buy diesel vehicles, you may have to pay more, as excise has been hiked.

# If you are a smoker, you may have to pay more as excise on tobacco, except beedis has been hiked by 10-15 per cent.

# Looking to buy branded apparel, you may have to pay more, as excise has been hiked. We keep saying more, simply because, we do not know whether the company will absorb the excise hike or will pass it onto to you.

# If you receive dividends in excess of Rs 10 lakhs, you will end-up paying more as dividend distribution tax has been kept at 10 per cent.

# Infra cess on cars to make cars more expensive.

# Looking to invest in NPS, there is more tax benefits have been given.

# If you are an NRI, you can pay less TDS, if you submit certain documents.

# If you have invested in the National Pension Scheme, you do get tax benefits of upto 40 per cent of the corpus.

# Taking up a new job, you are lucky as the govt will pay EPF contribution of 8.33% for all new employees for 1st three years.

# A new health protection scheme for health cover upto 1 lakh per family as been announced by the govt.

# For traders in the stock markets, trading in the Futures and Options segment becomes expensive, because of a hike in the Securities Transaction Tax.

There is nothing much in the budget for individuals, as the focus has been more on infrastructure and agriculture sector. The tax slabs have not been changed and most of the changes are not consequential at all. From the point of the common man, the Budget is more or less maintains a status quo.

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