Budget Belies Hopes Of Plantation Sector: APK

Thiruvananthapuram: The Association of Planters of Kerala (APK) has said that the State Budget has dashed all hopes of the plantation industry, especially the tea sector, which has been reeling under a crisis over the last eight years.

The APK’s hopes of getting some relief in this year’s Budget have been belied, D. B. King, Chairman, and Prince Thomas George, Secretary, APK, said here on Friday.

During a pre-Budget discussion, the APK had explained the problems to the Finance Minister and had demanded the withdrawal of the agricultural income tax (AIT) and the plantation tax, as was dome in the neighbouring States. There was also a plea to waive the value-added tax (VAT) on tea until such time as its fortunes revived.

In his Budget speech, the Finance Minister has stated that `planters would be eligible for input tax credit under the Kerala VAT Act on purchases of fertilisers and fertilisers. Since these expenses could be deducted under the Kerala AIT Act, it is proposed to remove this facility and amend the statute accordingly.’

But the APK representatives said that the accounting principles do not allow claim of input tax set-off or expenses under the AIT Act. Set-off of input tax and claim of expense under the AIT Act cannot be claimed simultaneously.

While accounting for a purchase, only the cost of the material is claimed as expense under AIT. The input tax is debited to a separate account, which is set off against the output tax. Earlier under the Kerala General Sales Tax regime, the total amount was being claimed as cost of purchase. But, under the KVAT Act, this is not the case.

Further, the Finance Minister has stated that planters have been made eligible for input tax credit. But the assessing officers in their own wisdom are not allowing the set-off against this input tax credit to the plantation industry.

It is sad that the planters who pay some of the highest taxes (as much as 50 per cent of the income as AIT) are singled out for harsh treatment, the APK representatives said.

'Save Tiger' Not On FM's Mind, Only Rs 50 Cr Allocated

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday announced an allocation of Rs 50 crore to the National Tiger Conservation Authority to protect the big cat.

While presenting the national budget for 2008-09 at the Lok Sabha, he expressed concern over the dwindling number of tigers, calling the situation "alarming".

This amount is the Budget for 29 tiger reserves across India, averaging less than Rs 2 crore per tiger reserve.

While numbers allocated may have doubled since last Budget for tigers, environmentalists might feel the allocation still remains abysmally low

Budget: India Inc Ready With Charter Of Expectations

New Delhi: Corporate India is keeping its fingers crossed, hoping for Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) to be abolished or at least reduced to five per cent.

Here are the major expectations of the various industry sectors:

Textile industry hit by a rising rupee expects the textile up-gradation fund increased to Rs 1,700 crore.

The Information Technology sector hope its tax holiday is extended beyond 2009.

Cement, which had been hit hard in the last Budget, is asking for a cut in Value Added Tax rates to 4 per cent.

The tobacco industry is simply hoping for a tax hike that is not too steep but they fear a new cess will be imposed like in most years.

But will investors gain today? The market isn’t too excited and Budget is expected to be a non event.

According to CNBC-TV18 analysis, no direction is expected from the market when trade opens. The market is expected to be fixed in a range depending on the US market.

Relief is expected in the market after the session.

Budget 2008 Brings Cheers To Middle Class

New Delhi: The Finance Minister brought cheer to lakhs of middle class families just as he announced the cut in taxes. The loan waiver for farmers may have been on expected lines, but the real surprise was the when the Finance Minister also extended his generosity to the tax paying middle class.

Finance Minister, P Chidambaram announced, "Salaries up to Rs 1,50,000 — nil, Rs 1,50,000 to Rs 3,00,000 — 10 per cent, Rs 3,00,000 to Rs 5, 00,000 —20 per cent, and Rs 5,00,001 and above 30 per cent.

The above line from the Finance Minister brought a smile to the faces of lakhs of middle class families like the Gulatis, a smart rejig of the income tax slabs bringing a hefty reduction in income tax across board, especially for those who are at the lower end of the tax bracket, women and senior citizens.

Advocate, S K Gulati says, "Our Finance Minister has given relief by increasing the tax limit to the general public. I'm happy about the cut in taxes."

Dr Shravan Kumar Chhabra says, "Inputs for the drug manufacturers duty cut have been made and that will go a long way in cutting down the cost of the medicines, also the 2.25 lakh tax cut for senior citizens makes me happy"

And the benefits will be substantial with an income of exactly Rs 5,00,000 per annum; one will now pay Rs 55,000 compared to Rs 99,000 earlier, which is — a neat saving of Rs 44,000.

The FM has also made a large number of items cheaper to buy, expect a cut of up to Rs 15,000 in the price of small cars, and motorcycles and scooters could be cheaper by Rs 2000.

Water purifiers and medicines have also got cheaper across the board.

The ladies of the Gulati household have mixed views on the budget as the lady of the house Lakshmi Gulati says, "Except water purifiers and cereals there is nothing really for housewives, I am disappointed."

For the salaried class there is very little to fault Mr Chidambaram, but for those with an inclination towards equities, take note that short-term capital gains tax has been hiked to 15 per cent from 10 per cent earlier.

So think before you do those quick daily trades as the FM's message is clear — it's better to be a long-term investor than a day trader.