For the Mizo people, tribal and family identity are important. But so are jobs, farmers' access to markets, roads, and health facilities for a young population where drugs are a big affliction.
The GST Council might on Friday consider taxing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products under the single national GST regime, a move that may require huge compromises by both central and state governments on the revenues they collect from taxing these products. The Council, which comprises central and state finance ministers, in its meeting scheduled in Lucknow on Friday, is also likely to consider extending the time for duty relief on COVID-19 essentials, according to sources in the know of the development. GST is being thought to be a solution for the problem of near-record high petrol and diesel rates in the country, as it would end the cascading effect of tax on tax (state VAT being levied not just on the cost of production but also on the excise duty charged by the Centre on such output).
"GST should not become a 'grossly scary tax'. It should be a 'good and simple tax'," Surjewala said.
Stock market investors are expecting a balanced Budget with a focus on job creation, increased spending on infrastructure, reigning in the deficit, and bringing the economy back on track, experts said on Wednesday. Stock markets have been subdued in the run-up to the Union Budget with BSE's benchmark Sensex is almost flat so far this month. Even the corporate earning season failed to excite the markets, while some indices like IT and bankex have seen some positive movements.
If one compares returns, the two public-sector ETFs have done better over the past year, but the ELSS category has done better over the trailing three and five years.
Tax experts are nudging the authorities to figure out why so many assessees are not filing their returns.
Gold burnished its image as the go-to asset class during turbulent times. However, investors seemed to have missed the bus. Net inflows into gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) plunged to a four-year low of Rs 653 crore in 2022-23 (FY23), even as gold emerged as the top-performing asset class.
The income tax (I-T) department in Mumbai has requested Vodafone to make an application to the assessing officer for determining the exact tax liability resulting from buying out 62 per cent equity stake from Hutchison in Hutchison Essar Ltd.
Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal on Friday urged the Centre to provide more fiscal powers to the states as well as increase the shareable proportion of the GST collections. Besides, he asked the central government to expedite approval for the semi-high-speed railway line or the Silverline project from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod. The project is mired in controversies.
Taxpayers can claim a deduction on tuition fees for a maximum of two children.
The Union government could target a fiscal deficit of 5.8-6 per cent of nominal GDP for 2023-24, and it should continue its capital expenditure push and look to simplify the personal income tax regime, economists recommended Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her team during their pre-Budget interaction on Monday. Starting last week, Sitharaman had eight pre-Budget consultations this time. More than 110 invitees representing seven stakeholder groups participated in these meetings, the finance ministry said in a statement. The stakeholder groups included representatives and experts from agriculture and agro-processing industry; industry, infrastructure & climate change; financial sector and capital markets; services and trade; social sector; trade unions and labour organisations; and economists.
'The market was expecting the Budget to do more, given the domestic economic slowdown and global uncertainty. Over the next few days, the market is expected to absorb the volatility.'
Sentiments may get impacted as mutual funds have been gaining traction among investors as route to invest in stock markets
Worries remain on earnings-valuations mismatch, global issues; resolution of the MAT row could be biggest positive trigger
Lack of visibility on rates makes companies apprehensive.
Within six months, outlets carrying Vicks jumped from 60,000 pharmacies to 750,000 general stores. The trade boycott collapsed. Consumers were happy, finding Vicks now at every street corner. A fascinating excerpt from Gurcharan Das's Another Sort of Freedom.
The government has already sanctioned Rs 4,200 crore for upgradation of information technology infrastructure of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for processing returns, refunds, faceless scrutiny and verification.
In an hour-long chat on rediff.com on Wednesday, experts Vinay Mahajan and Devang Mehta offered some valuable tips.
Cooperative societies get more tax benefits as compared to individual house owners.
Businesses need to get on board in 15 days, ahead of indirect tax roll-out
'To save the LTCG, it's always better that the owner of the property that was sold also becomes the title holder in the new one.'
Prepare your replies with expert help, if necessary. Keep relevant documents ready to support your replies.
Loan taken for higher education from any other organisation or person will not qualify for claiming deduciton u/s 80E, says tax expert Vikas Gandhi.
Which are the best systematic investment plans for saving tax? Which are the best mutual funds to buy now? How should you plan your taxes and dervive optimum returns from them? Should you buy a house, go for a loan in the current economic situation?
Direct tax expert Vikas M Gandhi offers some valuable tax tips.
Are you a salaried employee and a bit confused by how much tax your employer is deducting at source from your salary? If at all tax is deducted at source, do you know how to plan to save taxes? Get ahead tax expert has the answers.
'Non-par plans returns are not market-linked. Hence, they can offer guaranteed returns.'
Many of the legal outfits, which provide consultancy services to corporates that include drafting merger and acquisition agreements, preparing MoUs, rendering advice etc, operate as sole proprietorships.
Have a query regarding tax planning or tax filing? Maybe we can help. Drop us a line and our expert, Anil Rego of Right Horizons, will answer it. Please write to us at getahead@rediff.co.in with the subject line as 'Tax query' and our expert will answer them.
No need to pay tax on a share of property from your parents, says tax expert Vikas Gandhi.
Two equity funds at the opposite ends of the risk matrix - small-cap and arbitrage - bucked the 'low inflow' trend in May this calendar year 2023 (CY23) to receive the highest net inflows in recent years. The Rs 3,280-crore net inflows into small-cap schemes in May was the highest for the category since the mutual fund (MF) industry started releasing fund-wise inflow data in April 2019. Arbitrage schemes raked in a net Rs 6,640 crore - the highest since July 2021.
Join Anil Rego for an online chat between 2 pm and 3 pm on Friday, July 8, 2016.
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