New Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday proposed increasing the minimum alternate tax on firms, but scrapped a tax on commodity transactions.
Following are some of the proposed tax changes:
DIRECT TAXES
- No changes in corporate taxes
- Raises Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) to 15 per cent from 10 per cent. The MAT was earlier introduced to make sure companies do not totally avoid taxation by claiming various deductions that cancelled out their tax liability altogether.
- Extends tax credit carry-over period under MAT to 10 years from seven years.
- Scraps Commodity Transaction Tax
- Scraps Fringe Benefit Tax
- Extends sunset clause on tax holidays for export profits by one year to 2010-11
- Tax holiday for natural gas production
- Increases personal income tax exemption to senior citizens by Rs 15,000 by Rs 10,000 for others
- Elimiates 10 per cent surcharge on personal income tax
INDIRECT TAXES
- Maintains overall structure of customs, excise duties and service tax
- Increases customs duty on gold bars to Rs 200 per 10 grams from Rs 100 per 10 grams
- Increases customs duty on other forms of gold, excluding jewellery, to Rs 500 per 10 grams from Rs 250 per 10 grams
- Restores 8 per cent excise duty on manmade fibre and yarn
- Raises excise duty on several items to 8 per cent from 4 per cent, broadly exempting food items and medicines
- Exempts bio-diesel blended petrol, diesel from excise duty
- Cuts customs duty on bio-diesel to 2.5 per cent fron 7.5 per cent
NON-TAX REVENUES, REFORMS
- Intends to move to a system of direct subsidy transfer to farmers
- To set up panel to advise on a viable and sustainable fuel price policy
- To retain 51 per cent government holding in state-run firms
- To encourage people's participation in stake sales in state-run firms
- State-run banks, insurance firms to remain with government, will be funded to grow
- Expects Rs 497.50 billion ($10.26 billion) from dividends, profits of state-run firms in 2009-10
- Targets 11.2 billion rupees from stake sales in 2009-10
- Expects 3G wireless spectrum auction to net Rs 350 billion in 2009-10
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