New Delhi, Feb. 26: If your salary comes into the taxable category, your tax incidence could be substantially lower in the next financial year. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has given relief to individual taxpayers by widening the personal income-tax slab, leaving more disposable income in the hands of individuals.
Now those earning up to Rs 5 lakhs a year will be in the lowest 10 per cent slab, in contrast to the earlier Rs 3 lakhs. The exemption limit for tax-free income, however, remains unchanged at Rs 1.6 lakh for men and Rs 1.9 lakh for women.
Those whose income is between Rs 5 lakhs up to Rs 8 lakhs a year will now be in the next slab, and have to pay 20 per cent in tax. All those with annual incomes above Rs 8 lakhs will be taxed at the rate of 30 per cent.
“The further slackening of income-tax slabs will provide substantial relief to 60 per cent of taxpayers,” the finance minister said in his speech.
Back-of-the-envelope calculations indicate that a male taxpayer with a net taxable income of Rs 8 lakhs will save income-tax  to the extent of Rs 45,320 annually. An individual with annual taxable income of Rs 10 lakhs or above will save Rs 57,680 in taxes.
“The savings will boost spending and ease pressure from a vast Indian middle-class which is fighting double-digit food inflation. The government is more focused on consumption-led growth, putting surplus cash in the hands of investors,” said Ajay Kumar, executive director of Pricewaterhouse Coo-pers. In addition to the existing limit of Rs 1 lakh for rebate under Section 80C of the Income-Tax Act, the Budget also proposes to allow a deduction of up to Rs 20,000 for investments in long-term infrastructure bonds. “A taxpayer can channelise more funds towards their chosen financial goals despite earning the same income. Also, to optimise the use of excess disposable income, a taxpayer should employ strategic asset allocation towards better asset creation in future,” said Ranjeet Mudholkar, principal adviser, Financial Planning Standards Board India.
The government will also notify simpler tax return forms for salaried individuals called Saral-2 for assessments in the year 2010-11. Tax expert Subhash Lakhotia said: “Only individuals with annual incomes of more than Rs 5 lakhs will benefit from these direct tax changes. As the finance minister did not raise the initial exemption limit at all, for more than 80 per cent of taxpayers there will be no change. Introduction of the Saral-2 form from 2010-11 is good news as it will help taxpayers to fill the form without any hassles.”

Prashant Mukherjee and Shruti Verma    
Financial Chronicle

Hyderabad, Feb. 26: Back in 1984, the finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, was a pipe-smoking Bengali babu who would occasionally invoke Kautilya in his speeches. Now, 26 years down the line, he still loves the author of the Arthashastra but not the pipe.
The older Pranab is a healthier man. He has quit smoking and now threatens smokers with more taxes.
The point is he is trying to make India richer. Along with his health, the country’s fortunes have changed too — since the last time he was finance minister, the economy has grown by leaps and bounds.
In 1984, for instance, the Maruti 800 was an “aspirational” car. It is now being phased out. The country’s GDP, foreign exchange reserves, and the government’s tax revenues have all multiplied many times.  
The economy is poised to grow faster, backed by India’s demographic dividend — there are 500 million Indians below 21 years of age. Over the next many years, the country will have more people in the working age and less old people to support.
Today’s Budget sets the tone for the India of the future — policy measures around direct taxes and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) signal the country’s integration with the global economy. The Budget plans to put more money in the hands of citizens, money that can be ploughed back to prop up the domestic economy further. And lower taxes are good news for government coffers as well; they ensure better compliance and thereby more revenues. A win-win situation.

Goutam Das

New Delhi, Feb. 26: You will have to shell out an extra Rs 2.71 per litre of petrol and another Rs 2.55 per litre on diesel as the government hiked prices on Friday.
The hike in fuel prices, which will be effective Friday midnight, comes after finance minister Pranab Mukherjee enforced import duty and excise tax on crude oil and refined products.
Mr Mukherjee on Friday in his Budget speech said, “I propose to restore the basic duty of five per cent on crude petroleum, 7.5 per cent on diesel and petrol and 10 per cent on other refined products. I also propose to enhance the Central excise duty on petrol and diesel by Re 1 per litre each.”
The total under-recoveries for refiners in the complete financial year is pegged at nearly Rs 46,000 crores.

Siddhartha P. Saikia        
Financial Chronicle

Patna, Feb. 26: An influential Bihar minister’s MLA son apparently committed suicide after shooting dead his wife and six-month-old daughter in the early hours on Friday under mysterious circumstances. The young JD(U) MLA’s shooting spree is said to be a result of his bouts of depression.
Abhay Singh, MLA from Jamui and son of Bihar food supply and consumer protection minister Narendra Singh, allegedly first shot dead his wife and baby daughter with a rifle before shooting himself dead in his bedroom at his father’s official residence in Patna. The Bihar Assembly was adjourned till March 2 to condole the deaths.

Anand S.T. Das

New Delhi, Feb. 25: The marathon three-hour-long talks between foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and Pakistan’s Salman Bashir here on Thursday were described as "cordial", but Mr Bashir’s press conference subsequently degenerated into rhetoric, putting a question mark on Islamab-ad’s sincerity.

New Delhi,Feb. 25: India on Thursday handed over three dossiers to Pakistan containing the name of a serving Pakistani officer, referred to as Major Iqbal, and 33 terrorists, including LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, believed to be the mastermind of the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.

New Delhi,Feb. 25: While a clear political consensus is still proving elusive, the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the Women’s Reservation Bill 2009, aimed at providing 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.

New Delhi,Feb. 25: The Economic Survey 2009-10 was cautious yet hopeful of robust economic growth. It has raised the possibility of India becoming the fastest growing economy in four years but at the

New Delhi,Feb. 25: The government on Thursday said the "worst was over" and that prices of essential commodities like pulses, sugar and vegetables had started declining, and the trend would continue.

New Delhi,Feb. 25: Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, facing charges over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, is allegedly missing from his residence for