Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: Hailed as the father of India’s economic reforms, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh takes part in the Budget-making process. The prime minister holds talks with the finance minister, economists and senior officials to make sure that the Budget unveils policies to stimulate economic growth.
Life insurance companies want the current system of tax exemption for insurance maturity proceeds to be continued. The proposed Direct Taxes Code has suggested deduction of tax on the final payout, while exempting the policy premium at the time of contribution and the interest on it.
Responding to the widespread feeling that banks do not set their lending rates in a scientific and transparent manner, the Reserve Bank of India is in the last stages of the consultative process to introduce a new system. The proposed system will replace the existing system of benchmark prime lending rates (BPLR) with base rates. The formula for calculating the base rate will take into account the cost of deposits, cost of complying with CRR and SLR requirements, and the need to retain a profit margin.
Before 2008-09, deduction towards leave encashment and gratuity was a controversial issue following a Calcutta High Court judgment in the case of Exide Industries. The court ruled in favour of Exide and against the revenue department, saying that such provisions whether paid or not were eligible for deductions on the basis of actuarial valuation. A stay was announced in 2008 for 2008-09 returns assessed in the current financial year.
Shri Amarjit Chopra, a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ( ICAI ), has been elected as the President of ICAI for the year 2010-11 by the Twenty First Council here today. Shri G. Ramaswamy was elected as the Vice-President of the Institute.
The Ministry of Finance hosted a key meeting of the Steering Group of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes at New Delhi on 11th – 12th February 2010. The G-20 had asked the Global Forum to complete their peer review processes and to assess adherence to international standards.
Home and auto loan customers will have to shell out more with several public sector banks including the State Bank, Punjab National Bank and Bank of India (BoI) deciding to end the concessional or limited period loan regime, popularly called teaser rates.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to enable existing home loan borrowers to benefit from lower rates along with new customers, a senior official of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) told Reuters. In a letter to the IBA, the central bank has asked banks to reconsider their decision after lenders told the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last year that reducing rates on all home loans is unviable for them.
The Income Tax Department has decided to scrutinise all returns filed by brokers and market players who seek rebate after paying the securities transaction tax (STT).The department, in its tax returns for 2008-09 that is assessed in the current financial year, found that most of brokers or market entities paying STT calculated total income and the tax liability on such income before availing of the rebate under section 88E of the Income Tax Act.
Global business consultancy firm, Deloitte, plans to almost double its India workforce to 24,500 over the next 30 months, a top company official said. “We will hire around 12,000 people in every sector, including IT, CAs, financial services. The process has started and 40 per cent of the total hires will be freshers,” Deloitte India’s Managing Director Hari Kumar told PTI on the sidelines of the Nasscom Summit here today.
