Budget 2017 Update – Income of Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh to be taxed at 5%

Latest Update of Budget 2017 – Finance Minster Jaitley addressing the parliament, “The present burden of taxation is on salaried employees. Therefore, post-demonetisation this class expects a reduction their burden of taxation.”

Income between Rs. 2.5 lakh – Rs. 5 lakh to be taxed at 5 per cent. “If nominal rate of taxation is kept at a lower slab, more people will come into the tax net.”

All other categories of taxpayers in subsequent brackets will get benefit of Rs 12,500. Surcharge of 10 per cent to be levied on persons earning between Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 1 crore.

A person filing returns for the first time will not be subject to scrutiny.

The SIT on black money has decided that no transaction above Rs. 3 lakh should be permitted in cash.

Mr. Jaitley begins speaking about transparency in funding political parties. “Maximum amount of cash donation from one source will be limited to Rs. 2,000. Politcal parties will be entitled to receive donations by cheque or digital mode from donors.”

Amendment in RBI Act proposed to enable issuance of electoral bonds.”

“Tax to be levied for unoccupied houses a year after getting completion certificate. Capital Gains Tax holding period reduced from 3 years to 2 years for real estate.”

“Capital Gains tax exemption for people involved in land pooling mechanism for the creation of Andhra Pradesh’s capital city.”

“IT exemption for startups.”

“Allowance for NPAs in banks to be increased from 7.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent.”

LIC Housing Finance (up 1.44%), HDFC (up 1.03%), Dewan Housing Finance (up 1.16%), Can Fin Homes (up 2.47%) and PNB Housing Finance (up 1.15%) all gain ground after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gives infrastructure status to affordable housing segment. Infrastructure status will give access to easier and cheaper credit facilities.

Rs. 1,31,000 crore has been budgeted for Railways for capital expenditure in 2017-18, including Rs. 51,000 crore from the government, says Mr. Jaitley, moving to the Railways portion of the Budget.

Net revenue loss in direct tax could be Rs 20,000 crore. “When my aim is right, when my goal is in sight, my winds favour me and I fly,” says Mr. Jaitley ending his Budget speech. The Finance Minister tables the Budget 2017-18.

The Minister introduces the Finance Bill. The House is adjourned till Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says:

“The Finance Minister has presented an ‘Uttam’ Budget, devoted to strengthening the hands of the poor. The merger of the Railway Budget with the general Budget will give an impetus to the transport sector’s growth. The aim of the government is to double the income of farmers. This Budget is yet again devoted to the well being of the villages, farmers and the poor. Special emphasis has been given on women empowerment in the Budget. The housing sector stands to gain immensely; The commitment to eliminate corruption and black money is reflected. This Budget will help small businesses to become competitive in the global market.”

Pune: Defence veterans ‘disappointed’ with budget

Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (retd) said though the allocation for modernisation in defence sector is not very high.

Defence forces veterans in the city say they are disappointed by the Union Budget, which made very little mention of the defence sector and One Rank One Pension (OROP). On the other hand, they are hopeful about ‘Make in India’ in the defence sector. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made a passing reference to OROP in the initial part of his Budget speech saying that in 2016-17, the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations and OROP would mean additional burden. He, however, did not go into the details. Another reference to the defence sector was about changes in customs and excise duty rates for ‘Make in India’ in defence.

Commander Ravindra Pathak (retired) of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) said, “It is really disturbing to see almost no mention of defence in the Budget speech. Considering the fact the defence budget is more than of Railways, it is time it is presented and discussed separately in Parliament. The rise in the defence budget is very less and hardly covers even inflation. There is no concrete announcement on OROP, which is disappointing.”

Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (retd) said though the allocation for modernisation in defence sector is not very high, the gap would be offset by ‘Make in India’.

 

Brigadier Sharad Luktuke (retd) of IESM said, “The anomalies in OROP remain as they were. If these delaying tactics continue, there would be no option for us but to take legal recourse. There is an urgent need to bring transparency in organisations like Defence Research Development Organisation. Bigger share of private sector in defence is also one of the things that will boost Defence production in India.” -

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Prabhu ‘unlikely’ to hike fares in upcoming rail budget - Mail Today

New Delhi: Railway minister Suresh Prabhu not likely to bite the bullet on hiking fares significantly to help run the cash-strapped Railways.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will present the Rail Budget today.

The Rail Budget, is expected to lean more heavily on support from the finance ministry and borrowings to bridge the resource gap.

According to sources, it would not be politically expedient to go in for a significant hike in fares at this juncture as four states are headed for the elections.

Prabhu admitted in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the resources of the Railways are constantly dwindling as freight and passenger fares are not being decided in an optimum manner.

He said that the share of the Railways in freight as compared to other modes of transportation is declining.
There has been a steady increase in freight rates over the years to cross-subsidise losses incurred in running passenger trains, which has driven freight to the road sector.

The cross-subsidy from freight to passenger operation has crossed Rs 30,000 crore this year while the Seventh Pay Commission burden is about Rs 32,000 crore. The Railways earned Rs 136,079.26 crore as against the target of Rs 141,416.05 crore during the April-January period, a decline of 3.77 per cent.

There has been a slump in passenger and freight revenues this year, which is straining the finances of the Railways.

According to senior officials, stiff competition from airlines for wealthier travellers, whose higher fares are a major source of revenue, had hurt the Railways’ earnings along with a fall in demand for major goods like coal and cement.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley cut the Rs 40,000 crore of cash promised to the Railways in his last Budget by a fifth after they failed to spend money on time. The Railways still expects about Rs 50,000 crore in support for projects in 2016-17.

Aiming at shifting goods from road to rail, the Budget is expected to offer various schemes to attract loadings. A scheme for premium high-speed parcel trains is slated to be unveiled in the Budget.

In the suburban section, the Rail Budget will announce introduction of AC suburban trains in Mumbai, which will be replicated in other areas as well. The fare for the AC suburban service will be higher than regular local trains.

Introduction of the dual mode engine to enable the train to run both on diesel and electricity is likely to be announced in the budget.

The Railways has already decided to run as many special trains on higher fares on popular routes catering to the growing demand during festive season, an indirect way of hiking fares.

Prabhu will give details about concerted efforts being undertaken by the Railways to keep stations and trains clean and environment-friendly in his second Budget speech.

The 400 stations being planned to be developed with private participation are likely to be announced as green stations with several environment-friendly measures like generation of solar energy, recycling of water, conversion of waste to energy and use of LED lights to be incorporated in the plan.

Inputs with Mail Today