'One wishes that today's 'take no prisoners' brand of politics would give way to an understanding of the national interest that is shared by both government and Opposition.'
The government is likely to increase the number of transactions that require reporting from seven to tighten scrutiny and check evasion.
She has shown shrewdness, sensitivity, and courage. All of these will be needed in ample quantities for the real challenge that will emerge after the elections, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
In a boost to the embattled Adani Group, Mauritian Financial Services Minister Mahen Kumar Seeruttun has told the nation's Parliament that Hindenburg Research's allegations of the presence of 'shell' companies in the Island nation are 'false and baseless' and that Mauritius was in compliance with OECD-mandated tax rules. US short seller Hindenburg on January 24 alleged that billionaire Gautam Adani used shell companies based in Mauritius to manipulate stock prices of his Indian-listed companies.
In his second term in office, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has retained 34 portfolios.
HUFs are not used for tax evasion but for tax avoidance/to save the tax within the four corners of the law. Experts say that there will be little or almost insignificant change in tax revenues.
'GST will increase the volume of taxation, there is no tax on tax and therefore makes goods, commodities and services little cheaper and far more convenient.'
Bihar became the first non-NDA state and overall second after the BJP-ruled Assam to pass GST bill.
India has a very low tax/GDP ratio by world standards.
A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is scheduled to commence a crucial hearing from Tuesday on a batch of pleas challenging the validity of the electoral bonds scheme for funding political parties.
The recommendations by Shome are significant as they have been made at a time when two major tax reforms, the Goods and Services Tax and the Direct Taxes Code, have made no headway.
There is a need for tax reforms in the country in a bolder way, Singh said.
'With 1.3 billion consumers, India's market has great potential.'
'The one sector where there is still a sense of crisis is banking, but the government has regrettably set its face against privatising any of the government-owned banks,' says T N Ninan.
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said on Wednesday the value-added tax system cannot be implemented across the country until all preparations are completed.
Entry of a higher number of technocrats, an appraisal system for civil servants and the benefits of changing the financial year may feature in the PM's fourth speech.
The recommendation, if implemented, is likely to face opposition from the government's key support base among Hindu traders and businesspersons.
The amendment would help check round-tripping of funds and boost the domestic consumption, Jaitley added
"Reform is not an end in itself. Reform for me is just a way station on the long journey to the destination. The destination is the transformation of India," he said.
The web page also enables filing of grievances in relation to the implementation of GST
With economic growth slowing to a six-year low, IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath says the government should undertake structural reforms such as bank clean-up and labour reforms to address the slowdown in domestic demand. She rooted for government policies focusing on managing a slowdown in domestic demand, and on boosting productivity growth and supporting employment creation in the medium term.
'The Modi government is about privatising profits and nationalising losses.'
"Income tax revolution is going to take place. There is no limit to reforms in the income tax department and in the country as a whole," Central Board of Direct Taxes member B Swarup said in New Delhi.
Small scale and cottage industries which are labour intensive will be severely hit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reviewed the situation and favoured pushing ahead with the reforms agenda and taking more steps to strengthen the economy.
The Budget loosened the reins on public spending to drive growth.
The Budget is remarkably coherent.
Prominent among the wish list include updating India-US bilateral tax treaty, emanation of double taxation on software revenue, 15 year tax holiday for software technology parks and special economic zones.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday took up the four bills related to the GST, with the Opposition urging the government to insulate taxpayers from harassment and questioning how the new regime was "ideal" when 40 per cent of the revenue base of the GDP was kept out of its purview.
As per the revised return filing timeline decided by the Council, for July, the sale returns will have to be filed by September 5 instead of August 10. Companies will have to file sale invoice for August with the GST Network by September 20 instead of September 10 earlier.
Alarmed at the deteriorating financial health of states, World Bank on Tuesday suggested sweeping reforms including early introduction of value-added tax, expenditure control and other fiscal discipline measures to eliminate their revenue deficit by
'If I were in the Indian government, I would look at the growth projections in the next year. If it is a good and normal growth number, I would go for roll back.'
A strong proponent of the GST, Adi Godrej has been saying for five years or more that it will add one per cent to India's gross domestic product (GDP).
The Direct Taxes Code 2009 is now on the back burner. The Union finance ministry has veered round to the view that its bold move to reform direct taxes should be subjected to further scrutiny. Contrary to earlier expectations, therefore, the Direct Taxes Code 2009 will not be presented to Parliament as a Bill along with the Union Budget for 20010-11on February 26.
The government last year introduced the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
India can return to 9 per cent growth if the government removes uncertainties in policy-making and go for early implementation of some of the long pending tax reforms, a senior World Bank official said on Wednesday.
Financial services company Morgan Stanley's Asia chief Stephen Roach is more bullish on Indian economy than China.
Two years of the NDA government have instituted significant reforms, including the passing of the GST bill in India but "cultural issues and saffronisation" have resulted in a slow incremental change instead of big bang reforms, according to a top American think-tank.