Ask tax gurus Mihir Tanna, Samkit Maniar, Vivek Lala, Anil Rego, T S Khurana and Mahesh Padmanabhan your Budget-related tax questions
Foreign companies now pay less tax relative to their earnings than at any time in more than three decades. Foreign private companies paid 24.36 per cent of their pre-tax profit as tax in 2023-24, show numbers from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
Tony Abbott's views come at a time when the influential G-20 grouping, that includes India, is making stringent efforts to crack down on illicit money flow in the financial system.
The government in FY26 Budget should announce an "effective" personal income tax cut to support consumption and demand, Barclays said on Thursday. In its FY25-26 Union Budget preview, Barclays said the key ask from the Budget, to be presented on February 1, is to support growth while adhering to fiscal consolidation path.
The Budget announcement of zero tax for earnings upto Rs 12 lakh per annum and the rejig of tax slabs across the board should prompt more than 90 per cent of individual taxpayers to embrace the new tax regime as compared to the about 75 per cent as of now, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal said. Agrawal also highlighted the government's focus on "non-intrusive" tax administration through enhanced use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and simplified tax processes for common taxpayers. He emphasized the benefits of the new tax regime (NTR), which offers simple calculations and allows taxpayers to file their ITR without professional help. The CBDT chief stated that the Budget provisions related to income tax payment benefit all income earners, not just those earning Rs 12 lakh per annum, creating a positive sentiment in the economy and propelling growth. The department is also harnessing technology, including AI and data analytics, to widen and deepen the tax base, resulting in increased compliance and tax revenue. Agrawal further highlighted the positive impact of data availability and simplified tax processes on compliance rates, citing examples of taxpayers filing revised returns and paying taxes after being prompted by the department's data analysis.
Amid the Budget preparation, the revenue department is assessing the feasibility of further adjustments to maximise benefits for salaried individuals.
The Congress party has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of GST reforms, calling them inadequate and demanding an apology for the tax imposed on essential items. They argue that the reforms are merely a 'band-aid' solution and that the government should address the states' demand for extended compensation.
'We are not incentivising the old tax scheme. These taxpayers will also shift to the new regime after comparison.'
"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 incentives to switch to the new tax regime... are viewed as a negative due to potential loss of customers who buy policies for saving tax.' 'The tax-saving value proposition for the sector reduces.'
'We operate in an economy that is structurally positioned for long-term growth. As market levels rise over time, our AUM grows in line.'
The Supreme Court has said that selling land or property is not a service under the Finance Act, 1994, so such sales cannot be charged with service tax.
In October 2024, Jindal Stainless challenged a Goods and Services Tax (GST) notice in the Delhi high court. It was about corporate guarantees issued to related parties by its former group company, Jindal Stainless (Hisar), before their merger in March 2023.
The government on Tuesday announced that it will undertake a comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act to make it easy to read. Presenting the Union Budget for 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said the government will come out with SoP (standard operating procedure) for TDS defaults and simplify and rationalise compounding of such offences.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Do not panic on receiving a notice. Verify if your work falls under professions notified in Section 44AA(1).
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday overhauled the cost framework for the 80 trillion domestic mutual fund (MF) industry, introducing a simplified structure aimed at improving transparency for investors while balancing the impact on asset managers.
Victory wrested from regime that only listens when forced, the TMC said on GST exemption on insurance.
As the rupee has been on a downward slide and crossed 90 a dollar, consumer electronics firms are looking to raise prices of products ranging from air conditioners (ACs) to television panels up to 10 per cent.
The new EET method of taxation needs to be debated extensively.
'If you invest in a rush at the last moment, you could compromise on selecting the best tax-saving options.'
Tax consultants and chartered accountants have started receiving a flurry of calls from their clients - both corporate and individuals - seeking clarity over changes in the reassessment regime made during the recently concluded Budget Session of Parliament. Tax experts apprehend the amendments may lead to the income-tax (I-T) department sending out more notices. The new provisions, effective from April 1, have extended the scope for tax sleuths to reopen the past assessments.
Between January and August 2025, over 65,000 units of the Bolero were sold, making it the third-highest contributor to Mahindra's overall SUV sales. Bolero annually achieves sales of over 1 lakh units.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
The Indian government has expressed its disagreement with the IMF staff's 'baseline' assumption that the 50 per cent US tariffs on its goods exports 'would remain in place indefinitely', based on which the staff pegged the country's GDP growth at 6.6 per cent this year, and pared its 2026-27 projection by 20 basis points to 6.2 per cent.
rediffGURU Samkit Maniar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
'Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft have large operations in India and rely on smooth trade and data flows.' 'Restrictions could raise their costs, limit AI chip exports, and complicate their India strategies.'
The government's move to tweak the long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax regime proposed in the Finance Bill 2024 and re-introduce the indexation benefit is likely to boost the investments and spur housing sales in the country, industry executives believe. "By enabling taxpayers to choose the lower tax burden between the new and old schemes, the amendment is poised to drive investment and enhance sales across housing segments," said Niranjan Hiranandani, chairman of the Hiranandani Group. In Budget 2024, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed an overhaul in the capital gains tax regime, including lowering the LTCG tax to 12.5 per cent from 20 per cent.
From FY20 to FY24, the revenue forgone due to tax incentives for individuals and Hindu undivided families stood at Rs 8.7 trillion, significantly higher than the Rs 4.53 trillion forgone for corporations.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
How does the Union Budget 2024-25 impact taxpayers, investors and traders?
In absolute terms, both types of cars must cut emissions by about 28-29 g/km. But in percentage terms, the lighter 900-kg car must reduce emissions by 27 per cent, while the 1,500-kg car needs a 22 per cent cut. And the target becomes progressively stringent for both -- but, once again, the tightening is sharper for the 900-kg car than for the 1500-kg car.
He assured the startups that both the banking system and the government will make the resources available to them
'Growth will definitely continue to come most from the sub-four-metre SUV segment, primarily because that is where the heart of economy and affordability is. Naturally, that will keep pushing the share of that segment (in overall PV sales) higher.'
Real estate developers are hoping that the slew of tax concessions announced in Union Budget 2025, set to take effect this financial year, will spur demand for affordable and mid-segment housing, even as the broader housing market shows signs of fatigue.
Indo-US bilateral trade will surge five times to $500 billion in the next few years on the back of growing cooperation between both the nations.
These changes certainly bring India's GST a lot closer to what an ideal GST would look like, points out Karan Bhasin.
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