This has come after Budget 2018 had announced several tax law changes to provide more tax benefits to senior citizens. These included tax benefits such as introduction of a new section 80TTB in the Income Tax Act, 1961, deduction for medical expenditure in case of no health insurance coverage etc.
The FM said in her budget speech that she will bring in an amendment to allow this in the current budget session. Owing to many banks facing stress and putting hardship on their depositors (for instance, YES Bank and PMC Bank), last year the insurance cover on deposits held in a bank was raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
For the salaried class, the year 2020 was marred with job loss, pay cuts, higher inflation and so on. That is why many are hoping for announcements that can at least help ease their tax burden. Here is a list of some of the expectations of the common man from the Union Budget 2021.
During the week gold fell by 1.35% owing to the last US Fed meeting that did not spell out about further monetary easing. Silver too fell by 1.78% due to strengthening of dollar.
One can deposit gold in any form (bars, coins, jewellery excluding stones and other metals) in a GMS account with banks to earn interest as also not lose out on the appreciation in gold value. The income under GMS enjoys exemption from income-tax in India.
India’s insurance penetration grew from 2.71% in 2001 to 3.76% in 2019. But when compared with Asian economies such as Malaysia, Thailand and China at 4.72%, 4.99% and 4.30%, respectively, the expansion was found to be much lower, the Survey stated.
Experts say if the anomaly in the tax treatment of annuity is fixed, it could encourage more people to opt for pension.
Addressing the joint sitting of Parliament on the first day of the Budget session, Kovind said the trinity of Jan Dhan Accounts, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) has helped safeguard the rights of people and Rs 1.8 lakh crore have been saved from falling into wrong hands.
As per the Economic Survey, Thali prices for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian Thalis declined significantly in January-March 2020 before rising sharply during April to November in both rural and urban areas before easing in December 2020.
The Economic Survey 2021 says, “Because health insurance covers (some of) the financial costs that would be caused by poor health behaviour, individuals may have less incentive to avoid them; this phenomenon is labelled ex ante moral hazard.”
Digital platforms have emerged as enablers for employment creation with the power to easily discover job seekers and job providers in the absence of middlemen. Apart from traditional forces, these new forces have created massive opportunities for the consumer and service provider to interact through innovative ways.
The survey suggests that the government needs to increase its expenses to bring down this burden of higher healthcare cost. "Increased prioritization of healthcare in the central and state budgets is important as it crucially impacts how much protection citizens get against financial hardships due to out-of-pocket payments made for healthcare" says the Economic Survey 2021.
During the period between February 2019 and November 2020, public sector banks have passed on 0.94% as compared to 0.54% passed on by the private sector banks on outstanding loans. During the same period, in case of fresh loans, public sector banks reduced the rates by 1.51% and private sector banks reduced the interest rates by 1.76%.
Hopeful for an economic revival with the falling cases of coronavirus in the country and that people are getting vaccinated, he said huge opportunities lie in terms of insuring the small business units, properties and dwelling units, among others.
To avoid the conflict of interest, ensure fair dealings and consequently build the trust between taxpayers and the concerned tax authority, it is imperative that the redressal organisation has adequate teeth and is independent of the tax department.
"When overall interest rate falls general cost of living also comes down and when the interest rate goes up the cost of living also goes up. IRDAI is planning to introduce a floating rate annuity option which could be linked to benchmark such as G-Sec or an inflation index," the IRDAI chairman said.
Many US hedge funds have lost money on bets to short GameStop stock. Global analysts say it’s unclear whether all small investors will make money. But for now, several retail players have made big money and the herd investing strategy is going strong.
An age-wise analysis of SIP accounts for December points out that of the 34.7 million SIP accounts, 31.84 per cent are for less than a year only, with another 21 per cent run for a time frame of 1-2 years. Only 7.67 per cent of SIP accounts continue for more than 5 years.
In a big development, Sundaram Asset Management Company Limited has announced the purchase of the asset management businesses of Principal Asset Management Pvt. Ltd.
The loans can be availed by customers who are seeking to purchase homes in regularised colonies of Delhi-NCR, including Laxmi Nagar, Uttam Nagar, Krishna Nagar and Pitampura, it said in a release.
A source in Income Tax Department told ANI that stories are being published daily on various news platforms regarding the budget. However, they are far away from the truth.
In its order passed on Wednesday, the regulator said the allegations of abuse of dominance specifically relate to arbitrary increase in interest rate on home loan and increase in tenure of home loan by the bank on the basis of one-sided conditions in the loan agreement.
Data suggests Sensex had fallen 3.44 per cent in five sessions in the runup to the Budget 2020. That included a 2.42 per cent plunge on the D-Day.
Petrol and diesel prices were raised by 25 paise per litre each across the country on Wednesday, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies.
The government is in the process of implementing the new Labour Codes, likely to be effective from April 1, 2021. One of the important aspects of the code is to provide ‘social security for all’. In keeping with this spirit, there is a need to amend the tax laws also, to no longer subject EPF withdrawals to tax.
While various economic packages and reforms announced by the government in 2020 have no doubt kept the economy afloat, Budget 2021 is also being looked upon as a watershed event which is expected to lift and give an impetus to the economy. Here are 7 expectations of a common man from Budget 2021.
From the lender’s perspective, a loan that is classified as a non-performing asset (NPA) would mean that the bank would have to take a hit on its earnings.
A majority of respondents in the survey believe that with the government facing the prospect of significantly increased expenditure in the coming year, the revenue needs can be met through increased collections fuelled by an economic recovery as well as by improved technology-driven enforcement, rather than through the introduction of new taxes.
Mutual funds should be perceived as a longer-term investment vehicle at par with comparable investment avenues like gold and real estate with the investment horizon for 7 to 10 years especially the equity funds.
The pandemic has reinforced the motto of ‘people, planet and profit’ with investors putting their bets on companies with high ESG scores. Globally, trillions are flowing into sustainable funds, with ESG funds surpassing $1 trillion in assets, last year. In India the market regulator is pushing for more stringent ESG-related disclosures, amid rising investor interest. But for India Inc is ESG emerging as the corporate alpha mantra?
The bench permitted the lawyer to file application within three days and said that response to the plea be filed within three days thereafter.
Though the stocks in the near term may reflect rising volatility in the broader market, their long term trend looks positive given the rising demand for protection and savings products.
India’s existing consumer redressal system is fragmented and overseen by sectoral regulators such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for banks and the Insurance Regulatory and Developmental Authority (Irda) for insurance-related grievances. The government is of the view that this fragmented regulatory architecture leads to inconsistent treatment of both consumer complaints and micro-prudential regulation.
BookBaggage already offers baggage delivery services for airline passengers and has now extended it to Railways passengers, the company said in a statement.
With work from home becoming the new normal, it is going to be difficult for the finance minister to separate salary from business income. Raising the standard deduction for salaried employees may help level the field.
Any additional burden on existing taxpayers or any new taxes like wealth tax/estate duty, which were discontinued earlier for reasons of high administrative costs and low revenue yield, may not be in sync. The mantra for the FM in Budget 2021 should be ‘No New Tax’.
The Association of Mutual Funds in India in its Budget Proposals for FY2021-22 has reinforced its long pending demand to bring parity in tax treatment for investments in different financial sectors.
Each time a person without adequate balance in his/her account tries to withdraw cash from an ATM or uses debit cards to make a payment, the bank penalises him/her Rs 25 plus GST as ‘transaction decline’ charge. This can be termed as the digital version of a charge for bouncing a cheque.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) had issued MISP guidelines in 2017 with the intention of streamlining the process and bringing the practices of vehicle insurance, being sold by automotive dealers under the provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938.
Sensex is a bubble. But it may last some time since it is part of a global bubble blown by major central banks printing money massively to combat the Covid-induced recession.
Mutual funds added 72 lakh folios in the pandemic ravaged year 2020 as higher disposable income and low interest on bank deposits attracted investors towards this financial instrument.
According to a Max Life survey there has been a sharp rise in purchase of critical illness insurance plans. It also found that Self-employed have higher protection than salaried. Here are more such findings from the survey.
During the week gold gained by 1.32% based on the hopes of a massive US stimulus package under the new Joe Biden administration. Even silver was up due to expectation of increased demand.
Options are contracts that give the right but not the obligation to buy or sell an asset. Investors typically use derivatives for three reasons — to hedge a position, to increase leverage, or to speculate on an asset's movement.
Raamdeo Agrawal was talking about companies like Netflix and Tesla that have blown billions in acquiring customers. The market valuation of Tesla is more than the combined valuation of the next nine largest auto companies.
The fact that one country or an asset class cannot perform forever, and that bull and bear markets always coexist, brings in the need for diversification, she said.
Prashant Jain said the market is not yet excessively valued and that from a medium to long-term horizon, it still holds a lot of promise.
"It has been brought to the notice of RBI that the recovery of excess/wrong pension payments from the pensioners are being made in a manner that is not in keeping with the extant guidelines/Court orders," a central bank notification said.
PSU equity mutual funds, that invest primarily in public sector undertakings, have turned around to give astounding returns in three months.