With the Union Cabinet clearing the the new Direct Taxes Code (DTC) on Thursday, tax benefits on ELSS investments up to Rs 1 lakh are expected to go by next April. And investors looking for greener investment pastures are retreating from ELSS.
The direct taxes code (DTC) approved by the Cabinet gives a reprieve to special economic zones, or SEZs, till 2014 from the proposed regime, but has imposed a 20% minimum alternative tax, which is likely to be opposed by the industry.
The Direct Tax Bill has given bonanza to individual savers, as proposed in the revised Direct Tax Code (DTC) circulated in June 2010. For individuals, the bill has proposed to continue with exempt-exempt-exempt (EEE) method of taxation on investments up to Rs 3 lakh in a fiscal year in provident fund, pension fund and pure life insurance products. Under EEE, tax will not be levied during all the three stages — when investment is made, interest earned and when the money is withdrawn.
Charging that the property was acquired from the proceeds of the Satyam scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday took possession of 4,000 acres belonging to Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju and his family members in Loyapalli village near Ibrahimpatnam of Ranga Reddy district.
The decision to hike Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) rate to 20% from 18% now is being seen as a retrograde step by tax experts. However, the Direct Tax Code (DTC) as a whole, which the government plans to introduce in Parliament on Monday, is being seen as a step towards taking the Indian direct taxation system to global standards, tax practitioners and top company officials said.
The Reserve Bank of India, has said a bank will have to honour a fixed rate contract, even if interest rates move up in future. The clarification has removed doubts that some banks had over introduction of fixed rate home loans.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked former Satyam managing director B Rama Raju and four others, accused in Rs 14,000-crore (Rs 140-billion) accounting fraud in Satyam, as to why their bails should not be cancelled. The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Deepak Verma and Justice Dalbeer Bhandari issued notices to the five accused on a petition filed by CBI.
Under pressure from India and other countries for sharing account details of suspected tax offenders, Swiss banks have said any information exchange would be according to the conditions set out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the grouping of mostly developed nations.
Corporal punishment has been banned in all the schools affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has issued guidelines to all States/UTs as well as to the District Administrations for addressing the issue of corporal punishment in schools.
Individuals who tip-off the government on tax evaders can get to keep up to 20 per cent of the sum recovered, the government informed Parliament. There are guidelines for ‘Grant of Awards’ to informants who provide information on tax evasion,” Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.
