These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced that income from digital asset transfers will be taxed at a rate of 30 per cent. This move is seen as 'crypto tax'.
Tax experts G Srikanth and Anil Rego will answer all your tax queries in two different chats between 1 pm and 4 pm on Monday, February 3.
'Rates go up, revenues go up, and the need for compensation diminishes.'
rediffGURU Samkit Maniar answers readers' personal income tax queries
Archana Ramanan, a homemaker from Tamil Nadu, tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar what she would like to see in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget.
Laying the roadmap for the introduction of a goods and service tax (GST), state governments on Tuesday proposed a dual GST structure, with two rates for goods and a single rate for services. The tax would be levied both by the Centre and the states, though there is still no clarity when the new tax regime will be implemented.
Data from Value Research analysed on five-year, three-year and one-year performances of active equity schemes to pick the best performers in popular scheme categories.
The Budget assumes significance as it comes on the back of lower-than-expected growth numbers during the second quarter and geopolitical uncertainty.
While movie stars like Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan are among the top I-T payers, very few of the wealthiest Indians figure on the list.
Value added tax regime has not proved superior to sales tax system in tackling tax avoidance so far as inter-state and intra-state movement of goods are concerned, says a survey.
India has reduced the time period for foreign investors to seek international arbitration from five years to three years as part of the recently signed investment pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a departure from its model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Under the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism, if the Indian judicial system is unable to resolve a dispute within this shortened period, investors can resort to international arbitration. The investment pact, signed on February 13 in Abu Dhabi, came into force on August 31, replacing the previous pact.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, accusing it of repeatedly "wounding" the Indian Constitution. He claimed that the Congress, driven by its "lust for power," has consistently undermined the principles of the Constitution. Modi, however, praised India's democratic journey since its independence, highlighting the country's strong democratic roots and its unwavering commitment to its founding principles. He underscored the importance of unity for India's future development and emphasized that the Constitution is the bedrock of that unity.
The government will settle almost all the retrospective tax cases this month, closing a chapter that plagued India's reputation as an investment-friendly destination, a top official said on Friday. A 2012 amendment that gave taxmen powers to go back 50 years and slap capital gains levies wherever ownership had changed hands overseas but business assets were in India, was used to raise Rs 1.1 lakh crore demand against multi-nationals such as telecom group Vodafone, pharmaceuticals company Sanofi and brewer SABMiller, now owned by AB InBev, and Cairn Energy Plc. Such demands brought uncertainty in the minds of investors.
The Income-Tax (I-T) department has issued around 8,000 notices to salaried employees, self-employed individuals, and companies who made significant donations to charitable trusts. The department suspects potential tax evasion, as records of these donations do not correspond with the income and expenses of those making them. Sandeep Bajaj, managing partner, PSL Advocates & Solicitors, says, "Notices were issued for donations made during the assessment years of 2017-18 through 2020-21."
'You may see some movement indicating a simpler tax regime with less exemptions but with fewer tax rates making life simpler for taxpayers.'
Per capita income has more than doubled to Rs 1.97 lakh in around nine years. Indian economy has increased in size from being 10th to 5th largest in the world in the past nine years. Seven priorities of the Budget, 'Saptarishi', are inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector.
Dear Finance Minister, We don't expect magic, just a little understanding and some tax relief that feels like a real reward, not a bare minimum. A little extra fuel in our wallets could go a long way, pleads Vatsal Ramaiya
The government on Friday rejected the demands for tax exemption on setting up power plants, state maritime boards and port trusts, saying it was inconsistent in a moderate tax regime.
P K Mishra, a retired IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, is currently serving as the principal secretary to the prime minister.
'We will start reaching out to researchers, academics, and experts on AI from top universities and companies from across the world.'
Market reaction to the Union Budget was overall neutral. The income tax "gift" wasn't enough to move the needle. There was some apparent rationalisation of Customs duty structure as well as cuts on import duties of some key components for the telecom and IT industry and duty cuts on vehicle imports. Other proposals related to development of agriculture and rural economy and renewables seem to be generally positive.
rediffGURU Vivek Lala answers your income tax and personal finance queries.
'As negotiations continue, the path forward demands not only diplomatic skill, but also vigilance against legal asymmetries embedded in America's trade playbook.'
Assessment of the 427 account holders associated with HSBC list will be completed by March 21, 2015.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday addressed the World Economic Forum where he offered business leaders low taxes if they manufacture their products in the US, while threatening them with tariffs if they don't. Addressing the forum's Annual Meeting in Davos through video conferencing, Trump also said he is going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down oil prices and asserted that if prices come down Russia-Ukraine war will end immediately.
The government on Thursday extended the deadline till December 31 for filing of income tax returns by individuals for the financial year 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic and technical glitches in the IT portal. Earlier, the deadline was extended to September 30, 2021. Usually, the last date for filing the ITR (Income Tax Returns) for the individual taxpayers is July 31. "On consideration of difficulties reported by the taxpayers and other stakeholders in filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22 under the Income-tax Act, 1961, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to further extend the due dates for filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22," the finance ministry said in a statement.
'Customers are coming in; if they aren't buying, they are at least visiting the stores, which was not the case before the Budget.'
The Unit Trust of India Asset Management Company on Saturday called for a lower tax regime for mutual fund industry for the benefit of average investors.
'If you compare the data from 2017 and 2023 of the US imports from the world and China, you will see that the US was a complete loser in the trade war, and China was a complete gainer.'
Mahanagar Gas (MGL) has just hiked prices for compressed natural gas (CNG) and domestic piped natural gas (PNG) in the Mumbai Metro Area. The distributor raised prices by Rs 1.50 per kilogramme (kg) for CNG, bringing the price up to Rs 75 per kg, including taxes. Domestic PNG prices were hiked from Rs 1 per standard cubic meter (SCM) to Rs 48 per SCM, inclusive of taxes.
'...I'll say this to my fellow Americans, the more ties that we have to more Indians and the more ways we can find to grow our economic and educational exchanges, the stronger America and India.'
The decision to impose a 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets placed on online games will be implemented from October 1 even though there was demand for a review from states like Delhi and Goa, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday. The GST Council -- the highest decision making body of the new indirect tax regime that comprises Union finance minister and representatives of all states -- discussed the language of amendments that will be needed to enabling taxing online gaming, she said after the panel meeting.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
While using the family to save tax is legal and smart, ensure you use the ones where clubbing income laws isn't a concern, advises Bindisha Sarang.
So how do you rate the Modi government's 11th budget?
GST authorities have identified about 17,000 non-existent GSTINs and cancelled over 4,900 registrations in the ongoing pan-India drive against fake registration, a senior tax official said on Wednesday. Currently, there are 1.40 crore businesses registered under Goods and Services Tax, nearly double the number of businesses registered in indirect tax regime pre-GST rollout. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member Shashank Priya said in the drive against fake registration, till July 4, over 69,600 GST Identification Numbers (GSTINs) have been selected for physical verification by field tax officers.
'Young investors with limited funds should ensure that investing in NPS does not crowd out their other, more liquid, investments.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances