-The Hindu “We are the only country where vested interests want to keep the figures high” Even as the Centre is trying to find a face-saving solution to the issue of embarrassing poverty estimates put out by the Planning Commission, Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on Sunday wondered why people were picking holes instead of celebrating the fact that the number of people living below the poverty line had come...

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee maintained on Sunday that the budgetary proposal to amend the Income Tax Act with retrospective effect from 1962 to assert the government's right to levy tax on merger and acquisition (M&A) deals involving overseas companies with business assets in India is not Vodafone “case specific,” but an enabling provision to protect the fiscal interests of the country and avert the chances of a crisis. Faced with all-round...

Token relief to individual Taxpayers will cost the exchequer Rs. 4,500 crore In a “pragmatic and domestic growth-oriented” budgetary exercise aimed at shoring up investor confidence and investment, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday sought to tap indirect taxes, especially service tax, to rake in an additional Rs. 45,940 crore into his kitty. Presenting the budget for 2012-13 in Parliament, Mr. Mukherjee provided a token relief to individual Taxpayers that will cost...

-The Financial Express The finance ministry today said income tax dues from 12 individuals, including stud-farm owner Hasan Ali Khan, account for 90 per cent of the total income tax outstanding. "The amount of outstanding income tax dues is a dynamic figure. As on September 30, 2010, about 90 per cent of the outstanding personal income-tax demand were due from 12 individual Taxpayers," Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said...

Indians with undisclosed foreign assets and offshore bank accounts will be in for a shock this Budget if the finance ministry clears a proposal empowering income tax authorities to reopen assessments up to 16 years as against 6 years now.  The proposed amendment, the ministry feels, may not only act as a deterrent, but also put pressure on people to declare their wealth stashed away in Swiss banks and tax havens.  In...