HOW INDIAN BUDGET 2013-14 AFFECTS US

Finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram presented his eighth budget trying to strike a balance between reviving India’s growth trajectory and putting no extra burden on aam aadmi. Let’s have a glance over it how its going to affect us.

• Tax slabs have remained unchanged. However, there will be a gain of Rs 2000 by way of tax credit for those earning up to Rs 5 lakhs per annum by way of tax credit. 

• 10% surcharge on for those who earn  over 1 crore per annum. This will impact 42,800 Indians. 

• Good news for home buyers who plan to buy their first home .Mr Finanace minster has announced an additional deduction of Rs 1 lakh on payment of interest (besides. the 1.5 lakh deduction available now).The value of house should not exceed Rs 40 lakh and the loan should be up to 25 lakh.The loan should be taken in fiscal year 2013-14.This will help to save up to Rs 30000.

• Mr. Chidambaram has proposed a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on high value transactions of over Rs. 50 lakh on immovable properties. 

• Leather products get cheaper

• SUV”s will be costlier Excise duty on SUVs raised from 27% to 30%.  Import tax on luxury vehicles hiked to 100 per cent from 75 per cent, and on motorcycles with an engine capacity above 800cc to hiked 75 per cent from 60 per cent.

• Mobile phones costlier Handsets with a price tag of over Rs. 2,000 will attract 6 per cent excise duty.

• Eating out will be costlier  service tax on AC restaurants.

• Another reason to quite smoking excise duty on cigarettes has been hiked by 18 per cent.

• Good news for gold buyers gold import duty unchanged. The Budget also raised to Rs. 1 lakh the maximum value of jewellery that may be brought home by Indian women who have lived abroad for more than a year, or who are changing residence, from Rs. 20,000 earlier.

• Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme  First time investors investing  in mutual funds and listed shares will get tax benefits to three successive years.  Also, the limit for investors wanting to invest in RGESS has been raised to Rs. 12 lakh from Rs. 10 lakh earlier.

• Reduce securities transaction tax on equity futures to 0.01 per cent from 0.017 per cent currently

• However, it has imposed a commodities transaction tax (CTT) of 0.01 per cent of the price of every trade on futures contracts of non-agricultural commodities like gold, silver and base metals.

• Surcharge hiked to 10 per cent on domestic companies with annual income of more than Rs. 10 crore. For foreign companies, who pay the higher rate of corporate tax, the surcharge will increase from 2 per cent to 5 per cent.

• PSU banks to have ATMs at all their branches by March 31, 2014

• Mr. Chidambaram has proposed to set up the country's first women's bank as a public sector bank.