Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today kept the income tax exemption limit unchanged for women

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at Rs 1.90 lakh while increasing it for men and senior citizens.

Mukherjee, in his 2011-12 Budget speech, proposed to raise income tax exemption limit for general taxpayers to Rs 1.80 lakh from Rs 1.60 lakh per annum at present. For senior citizens, the limit has been raised from Rs 2.40 lakh to Rs 2.50 lakh per annum besides lowering the age to 60 years.

"The government is now looking at rationalisation to simplify the whole tax structure and paving the way for Direct Taxes Code," KPMG (India) Executive Director Vikas Vasal said.

The proposed new direct taxes Code, to be implemented from April 1, 2012, seeks to put women on the same footing as men by giving exemptions to the tune of Rs 2 lakh per annum to both.

As per the announcement, the increase in the income tax exemption limit for general taxpayers (excluding women and senior citizens) to Rs 1.80 lakh per annum would translate into a benefit of Rs 2,000 for all taxpayers