Divestment in BPCL, SCI, Concor, NEEPCO, and THDC would help the Centre keep its fiscal deficit in check in the wake of subdued tax revenues and a Rs 1.45-trillion hit for the exchequer from corporation rate cuts.
The immediate revenue loss could worsen the Centre's fiscal deficit, from the budgeted 3.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 3.7 per cent of GDP -- a massive 40-basis-point increase. It was stabilised at 3.4 per cent since 2016-17, report Abhishek Waghmare and Dilasha Seth.
The government has set a direct tax collection target of Rs 13.35 trillion, which includes Rs 7.66 trillion from corporation tax and Rs 5.69 trillion from personal income tax.
Facing a deepening slowdown, the auto sector is pinning hopes on the GST Council meeting on September 20 for a rate cut from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. However, states including Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, and Punjab are of the view that the slowdown in the auto sector is not because of the GST rate but structural issues in the economy.
The collections stood at Rs 98,202 crore in the month, against Rs 1.02 trillion in July. The figures indicate continuation of economic slow down which was reflected in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth which plummeted to a 25-quarter low of 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019-20, experts said.
Changes in I-T rules kick in today; to help govt track taxpayers' income, reports Dilasha Seth.
The proposed move to withdraw the DDT would help encourage investments by addressing multiple taxation of income and bringing down the effective tax rate on companies, which is among the highest in the world.
DTC task force also favoured doing away with Dividend Distribution Tax by suggesting taxing dividends in the hands of shareholders.
The government is looking to plug loopholes in the Indian customs law provision that allows tax exemptions for gifts up to Rs 5,000 and trade samples up to Rs 10,000 sent to India from abroad.
Sources in the Fifteenth Finance Commission said that they will implement the provisions after the bill is enacted and the President makes a reference to it.
Digital commerce operators advertising on global social media, which earlier did not pay Google tax on their operations in Jammu & Kashmir, may now have to cough it up at 6 per cent.
According to data compiled by the World Bank, the UK's economy grew to $2.82 trillion and the French economy expanded to $2.78 trillion in 2018, against India's $2.73 trillion, showed the data.
Balakrishnan refused to react to the India Inc criticism of growing incidents of tax terrorism following Siddhartha's letter. Appearing unfazed, he said, "I only believe in doing my job well."
The Centre's revenue from GST registered a decline of 10 per cent in 2017-18 compared to revenue of subsumed taxes in 2016-17.
With less than five months left for the report of the Fifteenth Finance Commission to be submitted, its chairman N K Singh said the report will have fiscal road map for states, depending on their current situation.
Revenue foregone on account of corporation tax exemptions is estimated to grow by 16 per cent in 2018-19 (FY19) versus 8.7 per cent in the previous year and 12 per cent in 2016-17, show the Budget documents.
However, the World Bank has projected India's GDP growth rate at 7.5 per cent for the next three financial years, including the current one.
CBDT has been given a collection target of Rs 5.69 trillion in personal income tax in the fiscal year 2019-20 - 19.2 per cent more than the Rs 4.77-crore collection in the previous year.
A query has been raised about the "missing" Rs 1.7 trillion fiscal hole in India's financial accounts. This is so because the Budget uses the revised estimates, a projection of how much the government was expected to earn, while the Economic Survey uses the first actual numbers.
To validate and continue using the existing PAN cards, citizens will have to link them to Aadhaar. Or else, they will be permitted to use Aadhaar instead for filing returns and while making other high-value transactions, specified under the Income Tax Act.