Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, a hike in GST rates would have hampered consumption amid the economic slowdown. The revenue augmentation panel in the Council meeting recently recommended revisiting and restructuring the GST rate slabs, besides correcting the inverted duty structure. The panel listed 24 items, including mobile phones, footwear, fabrics, LED light, medical equipment, utensils, agri machinery, pharma, and renewable components, which have an inverted duty structure, resulting in refunds of close to Rs 20,000 crore annually.
Softening the demonetisation blow, the Budget for 2017-18 on Wednesday halved the tax to 5 per cent on incomes up to Rs 500,000 but proposed a new surcharge of 10 per cent on incomes between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore and raised duties on cigarettes and pan masala while stepping up allocations for infrastructure, rural, agriculture and social sectors.
'In a nation where safety standards are the lowest in the world, why make compliance expensive?' asks Aakar Patel.
Jaitley's fifth Budget has provided little relief to the middle class.
Economy to grow by 7.2-7.5 per cent in second half of current fiscal, says FM.
Major focus will be on adequately funding existing schemes to ensure their timely completion before the next General Elections.
'Investors should continue to invest because you are looking at the long-term; in the next four to five years, we are bound to outperform (the rest of the world equity markets).'
Private equity investing can be rewarding, but an investor needs to be patient as exiting can be tricky and these assets do not provide instant liquidity.
But their trajectory and direction have been largely influenced by politics and the political leadership's understanding of how the economy needs to be managed, explains A K Bhattacharya.
'Perhaps GST was too complex a system for the Indian economy at its present stage of development,' argues T N Ninan.
Encouraging domestic financial savings through focused measures would help mobilise long term resources for funding infrastructure and economic development.
The Deutsche report said though India must move to a GST regime, the transition is likely to be disruptive for large sections of the economy and SMEs
Increase in tax exemption limit by Rs 50000 is positive for the FMCG sector, as it will leave more discretionary income in the hands of consumers.
In the video, Bachchan explains GST as an unifying force just like the three colours in the national flag.
Higher reliance on GST receipts for revenue reduces states' autonomy as these receipts depend on tax rates decided by the GST Council, a report by Delhi-based non-profit, PRS Legislative Research shows.
The Budget touches a few highs and lows as far as personal finance is concerned, and one needs to be aware of them in order to optimise on one's investment plans.
While the surcharge on super-rich would help garner additional income of around Rs 12,000 crore this fiscal on the direct tax side.
Lending on peer-to-peer platforms is fraught with higher risks but investors can earn as much as 12% to 36%.
A good advisor can make or break your financial future
Unless they have capital gains or assets abroad, most individuals will need to file ITR-1 or ITR-2A.
In an online chat with readers on July 8, Anil Rego answered their tax queries. Here's the chat transcript in case you missed the chat
Many investors, who have made money in the rising market of the recent past, are pulling out of equity funds, believing that they can earn more by investing directly.
The income tax department has recommended that TDS rates should be structured in three slabs of between one and five per cent for any stream of income. At present, there are multiple tax rates for TDS, starting from one per cent to over 30 per cent. Also, some rates are specified in individual sections that deal with the tax treatment of a particular income; others are included in separate schedules, making TDS payments difficult to monitor.
The income tax department has recommended that TDS rates should be structured in three slabs of between one and five per cent for any stream of income. At present, there are multiple tax rates for TDS, starting from one per cent to over 30 per cent. Also, some rates are specified in individual sections that deal with the tax treatment of a particular income; others are included in separate schedules, making TDS payments difficult to monitor.
Grains, non-mineral water might be on the list; biscuits, butter and cheese might attract GST
If the items and services such selected subsequently pass the test from the fitment committee and the GST Council, this would be the first of such rate hikes, after a series of cuts in the process of rate rationalisation that started in November 2017.
"The industry is looking at a rate of 12-16 per cent. So, it entirely depends on how it gets. But the bigger concern is how the GST is applied," said R Chandrashekhar, president of Nasscom.
This alliance is for personal survival, not ideology-based support. This alliance is for power, not for the people. This alliance is for personal ambitions, not people's aspirations," the PM charged.
'The most important thing to do is to stop taxing citizens so brutally,' recommends T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Parliament on Thursday cleared the decks for the rollout of the historic Goods and Services Tax from July 1 as it approved four supporting legislations to usher in the one-nation-one-tax regime.
The reward could vary between 1% and 5% of the total tax paid.
There have been complaints from consumers that the firm has increased the base price of products and then charged the lower GST rate, thereby keeping the MRP of products the same in pre and post tax rate cut.
Investors must remember that only resident Indians can open a PPF account and a person can have only one PPF account.
Most expect the Budget to be path-breaking.
'The middle class stood by the BJP, especially after demonetisation, and they expected something in return.' 'Some section of the BJP believes the middle class is condemned to vote for the BJP as they have no other choice.' 'They think they can treat them any way, still the middle class will run to vote for it.' 'That's what the Budget seems to convey.'
In February 1997, Mr Chidambaram fixed the income-tax rates for individuals at 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent, depending on specific income slabs. The rates have not changed since then, although some finance ministers have imposed surcharges on these rates and some have withdrawn them.
For the Rs 599 offer, taxes and other fees and charges, barring fuel surcharge, would be additional, but the Rs 1,999 offer is all-inclusive
A road map could be laid out for a gradual reduction in the tax rates from the current incidence of about 62-94 per cent without causing a major blow to the revenues of the Centre and the states. The opportunity arising out of higher GST collections should not be squandered, says A K Bhattacharya.
'From the tiniest to mid-level organisations and even some at the lower end of the large-scale ones would say that computerisation and the extensive documentation and regulatory requirements for GST have made the compliance process worse in many cases.'
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