They also stressed the need to increase allocation for improving the quality of education and improving infrastructure in rural areas.
Buoyed by a 60 per cent growth in income tax collection in Mumbai, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said he expected the country's financial capital to do even better in the next fiscal.Mumbai is the third city to have an LTU after Bangalore and Chennai. Delhi and Kolkata would be the next centres to have LTUs which provide single-window to corporate to pay all central taxes.
"The higher realisation of taxes in third quarter was associated with reduction in revenue and fiscal deficit," Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam informed Rajya Sabha while tabling the statement on third quarterly review of receipts and expenditure for 2007-08.
The demand for ban on futures trading in more commodities is increasing day by day.
Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) has been extended to income in respect of which deduction is claimed by companies under Section 10A & 10B of the Income Tax Act.
The Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) farm loan relief package announced by finance minister P Chidambaram in the budget might have become an issue of debate but write-offs are not new to the banking system. During the last five years, banks have written-off loans farm, retail and corporate -- amounting to over Rs 60,000 crore to clean up their balance sheet.
The amount of loans to small and marginal farmers that commercial banks, cooperatives and regional rural banks have been asked to waive is likely to be slightly over Rs 23,000 crore (Rs 230 billion), less than half that estimated by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his Budget speech. The share of this due to commercial banks is probably around Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) the total overdue from all farmers to commercial banks is around Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion).
The Confederation of Indian Industry in its budget wish list has urged to government to scrap the fringe benefit tax.
The Union Budget 2008-09 will leave more money in every pocket.
The Finance Minister's move to raise the income tax exemption limit for both men and women in the Union Budhet 2008-09 seem to have won him a lot of young fans.
Without the handsome receipts from the sale of government equity in PSUs and sharp increases in excise revenues from oil, Mr Jaitley's fiscal consolidation drive would have become even more arduous, says A K Bhattacharya.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Tuesday sought a Re 1 per litre cut in excise duty on diesel to contain runaway inflation.
'Benefits in kind' are the ones which are not included in an employee's salary cheque or wages.
Soft drinks are a part of the larger consumer non-durables category, which rose five per cent in June, against a 0.5 per cent fall a year earlier, showed official data released on Monday.
In a stern warning to service tax evaders, the government asked them to either pay their dues by tomorrow or face penal action which could include arrest and prosecution.
As per the budget document presented in Parliament, public sector enterprises, including banks, are expected to contribute Rs 88,188 crore in the form of dividend and profit to the government in the current financial year.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday favoured 'a close hard look' at tax exemptions in a bid to bring fiscal prudence.
Ahead of the Budget exercise, which is set to begin on Wednesday, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday hinted at further moderation in tax rates, deepening of reforms and cut in wasteful expenditure.
Sical Logistics' board of directors, which met to consider approval of the June quarter financial results, asked the management to come out with recommendations for the same.
Exclude expenses on free samples of medicines and of medical equipment distributed to doctors;\nExclude expenses incurred on brand ambassador and celebrity endorsement
The Left proposed introduction of inheritance tax and restoration of long term capital gains tax to mop up additional resources for funding mega social sector schemes
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the apex financial institution for rural finance, will raise Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) through capital gains bonds in financial year 2007-08.
Even if a company does not invest, it will improve liquidity of banks.
This could be tackled in the long run through increased supply of farm products -- which is precisely the focus of Budget 2007-08, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday.
The amendment Bill provides for corporatisation and demutualisation of the existing commodities exchanges and setting up of a separate Clearing Corporation.
In a significant step towards greater availability of long-term finance for the infrastructure sector, Finance Minister P Chidambaram
Consider tax saving funds -- their average annual return over the past five years has varied from 16% to 108%.
The government on Thursday announced that it will introduce a comprehensive bill in the next budget session of Parliament to amend the Banking Regulation Act to strengthen cooperative banks as their condition across the country was "appalling".
Replicating the revolution in the auto industry, government on Friday said it will make India a global manufacturing hub in other sectors like textiles, leather, petroleum, food processing and handicrafts.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the improvement in tax-GDP ratio has given enough money to the Central government to vastly increase outlays. The UPA government inherited a tax-to-GDP ratio of 9.2 per cent that has risen to 12.5 per cent in 2007-08. The ratio will be 13 per cent in 2008-09 he said, replying to the debate on the Finance Bill in Lok Sabha. Improvement in tax-GDP ratio has been despite cut in customs, excise & in the current budget cut in personal tax rates.
No changes in the rates of personal income tax., which will remain as they are currently.\nNo new taxes on income.
The steel industry on Thursday assured the government that it will hold the price line for this month, despite rise in input costs and pressure on their margins, to help it fight inflation.
On the first day of the new financial year, there was a sense of dj vu in the power sector. As has been the case for the last many years, the capacity addition during the year, of 9,263 Mw, is a little over half the target of about 17,000 Mw.
Supporting the striking truck operators, the National Democratic Alliance on Wednesday asked the government to withdraw the proposed service tax on transport booking agents.
The government has proposed to increase the allocation for school education by about 35 per cent.
The finance minister said that Indian investors will be allowed investment in overseas capital markets through mutual funds and that mutual funds will set up infrastructure fund schemes.
