...Budget 2012...

Last week, this same Friday, everyone in India would have thought about two thin gs, one is what new policies will budget 2012 bring out and another is will Sach in score his 100th century. As Rome wasn't built in a day, we have to wait and watch how the current budget' s proposals are being implemented and becoming more effective in meeting our exp ectations. In this weekly edition, we will cover key things from last week's budget 2012. T he 81st annual budget of India, for FY 2012-2013, was presented by the Minister of Finance Mr. Pranab Mukherjee on March 16,2012. Like yesteryear budgets, there were lots of expectations from people of all the walks of life for reformative policies which will a) revive the ailing economic growth of India b) tame the ra ising Inflation c) reduce the fiscal deficit and much more. Though the current b udget came with plausible proposals and promises, we have to wait and watch how truly their implementation will be in meeting our expectations. Below are the sn ippets of last week's budget. Revised Tax slabs ----------------The current budget treated both men and women as equal and increased the tax exe mption limit to Rs.2 lakhs with new tax slabs For both men and women (< 60 years of age) For Seniors (60-80 years old) For Super Seniors (>80 years old) DTC Deferred ------------Yes you heard it right, the implementation of DTC is deferred. Until then, the t ax benefits we enjoyed through deductions under section 80C is extended for one more year. Service Tax -----------

and becoming effective until the expectations are met. The Shopping Express weekly is all about shopping, finding better deals on resta urants, gadgets and more...Wouldn t it be nice if we have a coverage of last week s union budget to know how much we are going to shell out Amidst high political drama post railway budget, the Minister of Finance Mr.Pran ab Murkherjee presented the 81st annual budget of India on March 16,2012 for FY 2012-2013. Like any other yesteryear budgets, there were lots of expectations fr om people of all the walks of life. Though the current budget didn't come up wit h any big reformative economic policy proposals, it turned out to be not bad, bu t not good either, budget. Below are highlights of last week's budget to bear in mind 1. Service tax is increased from 10% to 12% which is going to bite your pockets more 2. Equal tax exemption limit for both men and women. Tax exemption limit is set

to Rs 2 lakhs with revised tax slabs. Post-Budget No tax for income upto Rs 2 lakhs 10% for income from Rs 2 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs 20% for income from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 10 lakhs 30% for income more than Rs 10 lakhs Pre-Budget No tax for income upto Rs 1.8 lakhs for men and Rs 1.9 lakhs fo r women 10% for income from Rs 2 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs 20% for income from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 10 lakhs 30% for income more than Rs 10 lakhs The exemption limit for the senior citizens between 60 and 80 ye ars of age will be Rs 2.50 lakh; 10 per cent will be levied on income between Rs 2.5-5 lakh, 20 per cent between Rs 5-10 lakh and 30 per cent above Rs 10 lakh. For very senior citizens (80 years and above), the income tax exemption limit wi ll be Rs 5 lakh; 20 per cent will be levied on income between Rs 5-10 lakh and 3 0 per cent for above Rs 10 lakh. 3. No concrete news for Direct Tax Code implementation 4. Proposed to bring fiscal deficit to 5.1% of GDP 5. Introduction of Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme with reduction of 50% in t he tax for investments upto Rs 50,000. This tax reduction is applicable only if the annual income is less than Rs 10 lakhs and for a lock-in period of 3 years 6. Reduction of Securities Transaction Tax (STT) from 0.125% to 0.1% only for eq uities bought through cash on delivery option 7. Disinvestment target of Rs 30,000 crores from Public Sector Undertakings (PSU s) 8. For infrastructure funding, tax free bonds of worth Rs 60,000 crores is propo sed 9. Tax free bonds of Rs 10,000 from power sector companies 10. More import duty on gold, diamond and platinum 11. Abolishment of import duty for LED, LCD panels 12. Concession for solar power plant establishment 13. More import duty for luxory cars 14. Two year exemption on import duty for importing thermal coal 15. Foreign Direct Investment in Aviation industry and allowed for external comm ercial borrowings worth of $1 billion for funding needs 16. Development of 8,800 kilometres of national highways by the National Highway s Development Project in 2012-13 17. FDI in retail market segment. This will allow many renowned international re tailers like WalMart to open their shops in India 18.