Budget 2018: What to expect from Jaitley's pandora box ahead of 2019 polls?

New Delhi: As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would be presenting the last budget of Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the nation is expecting some decent income tax reductions and less stress on farm sector.

Here are the top five things that could be expected from the Jaitley's Budget 2018.

Income Tax Cut:

Here is the current slab--

Upto Rs 2.5 Lakhs-- NIL

Rs 2.5 Lakhs to Rs 5 Lakhs-- 5 per cent

Rs 5 Lakhs to Rs 10 Lakhs-- 20 per cent

Over Rs 10 Lakhs-- 30 per cent

Cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel:

Here are the current duties to be paid--

Custom duties-- 2.5% on Petrol and Diesel each

Excise Duty-- Rs 19.48/ Ltr on petrol and Rs 15.33/ Ltr on Diesel

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More Tax is expected:

These are the areas where taxes could be increased--

Taxes on dividends with income over Rs 10 Lakhs.

Higher surcharge on earnings over Rs 50 Lakhs.

Inheritance tax.

Securities transaction tax.

Subsidies could be increased and Universal Basic income should be provided to eradicate the poverty mooted in Eco Survey 2017.

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Reduction of stress on Farm sector:

Here are the areas to be looked upto--

New scheme to pay the difference between minimum support price and the market price to the farmers.

Loan Waiver for farmers.

Bigger allocation of resources for farm sector.

Bigger allocation for food subsidies.

Much more is expected from the Budget briefcase of the Finance Minister as the government will also aim to gain the political benefit for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by presenting an attractive budget.