Highlight of Budget 2015-16

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS ;

-Corporate Tax Rate reduced to 25% for over next four years

-Exemptions For Individual Tax Players To Continue

-Yoga to be included as Charitable Purpose

-To Enact New Law For Black Money

-Concealment of income will attract 10 yrs of rigorous imprisonment

-Stringent penalties and jail for Black Money holders and evaders

-Benami property transaction bill to tackle black money transaction in real estate soon

-Foreign Exchange Management Act To Allow For Seizure Of Foreign Assets

-FEMA Act to be amended to incorporate Black Money provisions: Finance Minister

-To Allow Tax Pass-through For Alternative Investment Funds

-To Tighten Reporting Of Cash Transactions

-To Have Benami Transaction Prohibition Bill For Domestic Black Money

-Quoting PAN a must for all purchases above One Lakh

-100% deduction allowed for all contributions in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan [except contribution in CSR]

-Proposes to rationalise capital gains tax regime for real estate investment trusts

-To defer GAAR by 2 years

-Tax pass through to be allowed in alternative investment funds to boost small firms, startups

-Propose To Rationalise Capital Gains Regime For REITs/InvITs

-TO reduce Custom Duty on 22 items

-Rental Income from REITS to have pass through facility

-Income Tax On Royalty Fees For Technical Reduced To 10%

-To abolish Wealth Tax;

2% Addl. Surcharge on Super Rich.

-Reduced taxes on Technical Services to 10% from 25%

-Tax reduce for foot wear above 1k per pair

-Service Tax increased to 14%

-80D Health insurance 15000 to 25000
  For senior citizens 30000

-80DDB increased to 80000

-Wealth Tax abolished

-Tax on royalty income decrease from 25% to 10%

-Transport Allowance exemption increased to 1600 pm

-Domestic Transfer Pricing limit increased from 5crores to 20 crores

General Budget announced by Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley on 28 Fab 2015  is very much disappointing and disheartening for middle class people and specially for service class people who were expecting much relief in Income tax . Achhe din nahi aaye naukari karne walo ke liye.

Government has proposed some relief on investment made by service class people . It means the more they save, the more they can save Income Tax. But the question is whether service class  people are in a position to save money enough to get tax relief.

GOI has sent a message to middle class families to save more and more for their future and help government in turn to invest more and more. It means GOI want to stop purchasing and reduce purchasing capacity of  service class people . On the other hand they have given tax relief to corporate by reducing IT from 30% to 25% which indicates that GOI in interested in more and more production. But here the question arises that if the buyers are not in a position to buy what is the purpose in enhancing the producing capacity of the producers.

Further , budget has added fuel to fire so far as middle class is concerned. Because middle class people , particularly from upper middle class will have to spend more on many services like hotel, beauty parlour, cinema, air ticket booking from agents, courier charges and all others which attract service tax . On the other hand rich class people will have more surplus and earn more profit to spend more and more which will ultimately lead to widening of gap between rich and the poor.

In brief , though budget enhances the scope of savings and investment , it curtails the scope of consumerism. So  far as poor class people are concerned, they are neither so much benefitted from budget nor have they lost anything out of budget provisions. High expectation from budget proved wrong and wondering in dreamland.

GOI has not proposed any regulating body to control and check ongoing exploitation in real estate sector, education sector or medical care sector facilities. Large scale loot from students of other education, loot from patients in private nursing home, exorbitant profit making by apartment builders goes unattended. Nothing has been done to provide clean water, 24X7 power ,quality medical facilities , road connectivity , hassle free administrative work etc for common men. No relief to poor farmers and poor traders .

Of course there is commendable rise in the prices of tobacco products and that of  wine. And so on.............Commendable steps has been provided to curb black money creation and to stop money going abroad in illegal way. But no step has been proposed to cure ailing public sector banks in particular and to improve the health of PSUs in general. All good hopes stands shattered . 

'Budget a big disappointment for middle class'

-The Hindu-28.02.2015 5.p.m.

The Union budget for the financial year 2015-16 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is a big disappointment for the poor and the middle class people. The budget offers no personal taxation relief to tax payers. There is no announcement regarding the steps taken for the recovery of the economy. The statistics provided by the NSO on Friday which is based on revised parameters set out by the organisation cannot be believed.

The main highlights in income tax is as follows.

a) Abolition of wealth tax

b) Corporate tax to come down from 30% to 25% over the next 3 year period.

c) Transfer pricing requirement for corporate assesses the limit increased from Rs.5 crore to Rs.20 crore which will bring down the work load of income tax officers.

d) Mediclaim policy limit increased from Rs.15,000 to Rs.25,000 (Rs.30,000 for Senior Citizen) u/sec 80 D

e) Pension fund exemption increase from Rs.1,00,000 to Rs.1,5,0000 u/sec 80CCD ( Savings based )

f) Under Sec 10 Conveyance allowance monthly increased from Rs.800 to Rs.1,600 which will help salaried tax payers.

The disadvantages to common man are increase in excise duty and service tax from 12.36% to 14.42% which will increase the price line . The proposed increase in indirect taxes is inflationary. The Prime Minister has not bothered to implement his promise in his election manifesto where it was mentioned that the individual income tax limit will be increased to Rs.5,00,000. The Budget presented is similar to the one presented by the previous UPA regime . The influence of World Bank, WTO etc., is prevalent in the Budget proposal to stream line subsidies and reduce the coverage of people who are below the poverty line .

 * No change in tax slabs or minimum taxable limit

* The transport allowance exemption hiked to Rs 1,600 per month from Rs 800 per month.

* Limit of deduction of health insurance premium increased from Rs. 15000 to Rs. 25000. For senior citizens limit increased from Rs 20000 to Rs 30000.

* Senior citizens above the age of 80 years, who are not covered by health insurance, to be allowed deduction of Rs 30000 towards medical expenditures.

* Deduction limit of Rs 60000 with respect to specified decease of serious nature enhanced to Rs 80000 in case of senior citizen.

*Additional deduction of Rs 25000 allowed for differently abled persons.

*Limit on deduction on account of contribution to a pension fund and the new pension scheme increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.

*Additional deduction of Rs 50000 for contribution to the new pension scheme u/s 80CCD.

*Payments to the beneficiaries including interest payment on deposit in Sukanya Samriddhi scheme to be fully exempt.

*Service-tax exemption on Varishtha Bima Yojana.

*FM says concession to individual tax-payers despite inadequate fiscal space.

*Lot to look forward to as fiscal capacity improves

 Manmohan says budget lacks clear roadmap-The Hindu
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the budget reflected lot of “good intentions” of the NDA government but it lacked any clear roadmap to achieve the goals.

Dr. Singh said the Modi dispensation did not lay out any framework to implement various initiatives announced in the budget.

 

“My worry about the budget is that it has good intentions but it does not have an adequate roadmap and framework to implement the initiatives,” he said.

He said though lot of funds have been established there was no concrete direction to convert them to solid action plan.

 

Opposition dubs budget ‘dhan wapsi’ programme

The Opposition on Saturday slammed as “hollow and plain” BJP’s first full-year Union Budget, saying it lacked the vision and alleged that it was “repayment” by the BJP government to the rich and the corporates.

 

“The budget is only for big corporates and industries. It is not a pro-poor budget. This budget is a repayment by the BJP government to the rich and corporates, who had supported them during Lok Sabha polls. The budget is all about promises,” Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said.

 

While Jyotiraditya Scindia termed the budget as “plain and hollow”, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh described the budget as “dhan wapsi” programme. “You (BJP) had taken in elections. You are paying back,” Mr. Ramesh alleged.

 

Criticising the budget for failing to provide “acche din” to poor, BSP chief Mayawati said, “Budget is aimed at helping corporates. It has been made keeping in mind only the rich and big capitalists. It is not in the interests of common man.”

 

Giving 2 out of 10 for the budget, BJD leader in Lok Sabha B. Mahtab, said it was very disappointing as it did not do much for the formers but significantly, his views were contradicted by his party colleague Jay Panda, who termed the budget as “big bang”, which will “encourage the economy and boost the prospects of industry and manufacturing”.