Praveen Jain: Direct Tax Highlights of Budget 2012-13 List

Monday 19 March 2012

Turnover limit for compulsory tax audit for SMEs raised from Rs.60 lakh to Rs.1 crore
Income tax exemption limit raised from Rs.1,80,000 to Rs.2,00,000; upper limit of 20 per cent tax slab raised from Rs.8 lakh to Rs.10 lakh
White paper on Black Money to be introduced in the current session of Parliament
Interest from savings bank accounts deductible upto Rs.10,000; deduction of upto Rs.5,000 for preventive health check-up
General Anti Avoidance Rule being introduced to counter aggressive tax avoidance
Withholding tax rate on interest on ECB reduced from 20% to 5% for 3 years for specified sectors
TCS on cash purchase of immovable property above specified limit
Cascading effect of DDT in a multi-layer corporate structure removed
A number of measures proposed to deter generation and use of unaccounted money
STT reduced from 0.125% to 0.1%
82 Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements and 19 Tax Information Exchange Agreements finalised: FM
Tax @ 30% on unexplained credit or investment (slab rate benefit not available)
TCS on cash purchase of bullion and jewellery
No change in corporate tax rate and tax structures
Senior citizens without business income exempt from advance tax
Re-opening of tax assessments upto 16 years in case of overseas assets
15% rate for dividends from foreign companies extended for FY 2012-13

Praveen Jain