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Tag: tax

  • ‘Remember your own remarks…’: Karnataka CM after PM Modi criticizes Congress ‘tax protest’

    After Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at Congress for creating a North-South divide over sharing of tax funds, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said the former should remember his own remarks in the past during his tenure as Gujarat chief minister against the Congress-led UPA on similar issues.

    The Karnataka chief minister said PM Modi owes an explanation as to how his past criticisms of the Union government did not pose a threat to the nation’s unity and security.

    In a post on X, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark about our ‘Chalo Delhi’ campaign, aimed at protesting the injustices suffered by Kannadigas due to the Union Government’s unfair tax allocation, being a threat to the nation’s unity and security, is surprising. I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remember his own remarks opposing the UPA Government when he served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.””Weren’t your statements back then also seen as potentially endangering the nation’s unity and security? I await your reply,” he added.

    The Karnataka CM claimed that Prime Minister Modi, during his stint as Gujarat CM, argued before the Finance Commission that the criteria for tax allocation should be revised to provide greater incentives to states demonstrating effective financial management and developmental efforts.

    — siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) “Modi asserted the necessity of reforming the current tax allocation system, which disproportionately rewards underperforming states at the expense of those excelling in fiscal management. He advocated for incentivising states that have significantly contributed to infrastructure development and national progress,” Karnataka CM posted on X. “Numerous such U-turns in stance could be listed. PM Modi owes an explanation as to how his past criticisms of the Union Government did not pose a threat to the nation’s unity and security, while similar protests from others supposedly do,” he added. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday ripped into the grand old party for allegedly working against the “interests of the nation.”

    “Some are trying to divide the country over funds. What can be a bigger misfortune for the country? Such a mindset is being demonstrated by a responsible national party. It is unfortunate! Our tax, our money! What language is being used? This is dangerous for the future of the country,” PM Modi said.

    Earlier, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar on Wednesday held a protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital to protest against the Centre’s tax devolution policies to the southern state.

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  • Gujarat date farmers see red as Bangladesh raises import duty

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD: Bangladesh’s decision to raise import duties on Gujarat’s renowned Kutchi ‘Dates’ has dealt a severe blow to date palm farmers in the region. The import tax on Khaarek (Dates) from Rs 10 per kilogram has surged seven times to Rs 80 per kg. This significant increase has led to a halt in exports to Bangladesh, leaving Kutch farmers facing a surplus of unsold stock.

    Kutchi Khaarek is among the distinctive food products that Gujarat’s Kutch region exports to various countries worldwide. However, this year has been particularly challenging for Kutch farmers.

    On one hand, they had to endure the adverse impacts of the BiparJoy storm, and on the other hand, continuous rains have severely hampered Khaarek production. Now, with the steep rise in import duties by Bangladesh, the situation has become even more daunting for the farmers.

    The heightened import duty on Kharek from Rs 10.83 to Rs 80 has led to increased prices, making it unaffordable for people in Bangladesh, thereby causing a cessation of exports. Jamal Shaikh, a Kutchi Khaarek exporter, highlighted the sudden escalation in taxes by the Bangladesh government. In 2021, the tax was 10.83 paise, which rose to Rs 33 in 2022 and eventually reached 64.50 rupees in the new budget of 2023, only to be raised to Rs 80 shortly after.

    This drastic change has had a significant impact on the economics of the trade. For instance, the tax payment on a full truck of Khaarek increased from Rs 3.5 lakh in 2022 to Rs 6.5 lakh in 2023, and further to 8.5 lakh rupees after the subsequent week. Consequently, Bangladeshi importers are reluctant to conduct business under such circumstances.

    AHMEDABAD: Bangladesh’s decision to raise import duties on Gujarat’s renowned Kutchi ‘Dates’ has dealt a severe blow to date palm farmers in the region. The import tax on Khaarek (Dates) from Rs 10 per kilogram has surged seven times to Rs 80 per kg. This significant increase has led to a halt in exports to Bangladesh, leaving Kutch farmers facing a surplus of unsold stock.

    Kutchi Khaarek is among the distinctive food products that Gujarat’s Kutch region exports to various countries worldwide. However, this year has been particularly challenging for Kutch farmers.

    On one hand, they had to endure the adverse impacts of the BiparJoy storm, and on the other hand, continuous rains have severely hampered Khaarek production. Now, with the steep rise in import duties by Bangladesh, the situation has become even more daunting for the farmers.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The heightened import duty on Kharek from Rs 10.83 to Rs 80 has led to increased prices, making it unaffordable for people in Bangladesh, thereby causing a cessation of exports. Jamal Shaikh, a Kutchi Khaarek exporter, highlighted the sudden escalation in taxes by the Bangladesh government. In 2021, the tax was 10.83 paise, which rose to Rs 33 in 2022 and eventually reached 64.50 rupees in the new budget of 2023, only to be raised to Rs 80 shortly after.

    This drastic change has had a significant impact on the economics of the trade. For instance, the tax payment on a full truck of Khaarek increased from Rs 3.5 lakh in 2022 to Rs 6.5 lakh in 2023, and further to 8.5 lakh rupees after the subsequent week. Consequently, Bangladeshi importers are reluctant to conduct business under such circumstances.

  • Vivo sent Rs 62,476 crore worth turnover to China to avoid getting taxed in India: ED

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A whopping Rs 62,476 crore has been “illegally” transferred by smartphone maker Vivo to China in order to avoid payment of taxes in India, the Enforcement Directorate said Thursday, as it claimed to have busted a major money laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and multiple Indian companies.

    This money is almost half of Vivo’s turnover of Rs 1,25,185 crore, it said without stating the time period of the transaction.

    The crackdown on the leading Chinese company came after the federal probe agency found that three Chinese nationals, all of whom “left” India during 2018-21, and one other person from that country incorporated as many as 23 companies in India in which they were also helped by a Chartered Accountant, Nitin Garg.

    Among the foreigners, one identified as Bin Lou was an ex-director of Vivo and, according to the ED, he left India in April 2018. Two others — Zhengshen Ou and Zhang Jie — left the country in 2021, it said.

    “These (23) companies are found to have transferred huge amounts of funds to Vivo India. Further, out of the total sale proceeds of Rs 1,25,185 crore, Vivo India remitted Rs 62,476 crore or almost 50 per cent of the turnover out of India, mainly to China,” the ED said in a statement.

    ALSO READ | ED raids multiple locations linked to Chinese mobile compnay Vivo in money laundering case

    These remittances, it added, were made in order to “disclose huge losses in Indian incorporated companies to avoid payment of taxes in India.”

    The action is being seen as part of the Union government’s steps to tighten checks on Chinese entities and the continued crackdown on such firms and their linked Indian operatives that are allegedly indulging in serious financial crimes like money laundering and tax evasion while operating here.

    The stepped-up action against the Chinese-backed companies or entities operating in India comes in the backdrop of the military stand-off between the two countries along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that has been ongoing for more than two years now.

    The statement came after the ED raided 48 locations of Vivo Mobiles India Pvt. Ltd. and its associated companies across the country on July 5. Vivo had said on Tuesday that “as a responsible corporate, we are committed to being fully compliant with laws.”

    ALSO READ | Top Vivo executives may have fled India amid ED’s money laundering probe

    The agency said while it followed “all due procedures as per law” during the raids conducted under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it alleged that “employees of Vivo India, including some Chinese nationals, did not cooperate with the search proceedings and tried to abscond, remove and hide digital devices which were retrieved by the search teams.”

    Recently, Indian intelligence agencies found that the data of domestic customers was being “illegally” transferred by Chinese companies to servers kept in that country. The ED also said that post the raids, it seized funds worth Rs 465 crore kept in 119 bank accounts by various entities involved in the case, Rs 73 lakh cash and 2 kg gold bars.

    The agency filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the ED equivalent of a police FIR, on February 3 after studying a Delhi Police FIR (registered at Kalkaji police station) of December last year against an associated company of Vivo, Grand Prospect International Communication Pvt Ltd (GPICPL), its directors, shareholders and some others professionals.

    ALSO READ | ED conducts raids against Vivo, related companies in money laundering probe

    The police complaint was filed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs alleging that GPICPL and its shareholders used “forged” identification documents and “falsified” addresses at the time of incorporation of the company in December 2014.

    This company had its registered address in Solan (Himachal Pradesh), Gandhinagar (Gujarat) and Jammu (J&K).

    The three Chinese nationals, mentioned above, incorporated this company while a fourth one, Zhixin Wei, also opened four companies to carry out similar transactions.

    “The allegations (made by the ministry) were found to be true as the investigation revealed that the addresses mentioned by the directors of GPICPL did not belong to them, but in fact it was a government building and house of a senior bureaucrat,” the ED said.

    It said Vivo Mobiles Pvt Ltd was incorporated on August 1, 2014 as a subsidiary of Multi Accord Ltd, a Hong Kong-based company.

    The ED identified the other 22 companies as: Rui Chuang Technologies Pvt Ltd (Ahmedabad), V Dream Technology & Communication Pvt Ltd (Hyderabad), Regenvo Mobile Pvt Ltd (Lucknow), Fangs Technology Pvt Ltd (Chennai), Weiwo Communication Pvt Ltd (Bangalore), Bubugao Communication Pvt Ltd (Jaipur), Haicheng Mobile (India) Pvt Ltd (Delhi), Joinmay Mumbai Electronics Pvt. Ltd (Mumbai), Yingjia Communication Pvt Ltd (Kolkata) and Jie Lian Mobile India Pvt. Ltd. (Indore).

    The rest are Vigour Mobile India Pvt Ltd (Gurugram), Hisoa Electronics Pvt Ltd (Pune), Haijin Trade India Pvt Ltd (Kochi), Rongsheng Mobile India Pvt Ltd (Guwahati), Morefun Communication Pvt Ltd (Patna), Aohua Mobile India Pvt Ltd (Raipur), Pioneer Mobile Pvt Ltd (Bhubaneswar), Unimay Electronic Pvt Ltd (Nagpur), Junwei Electronic Pvt Ltd (Aurangabad), Huijin Electronic India Pvt Ltd (Ranchi), MGM Sales Pvt Ltd (Dehradun) and Joinmay Electronic Pvt Ltd (Mumbai).

  • Florida Senate passes bill to end Disney self-government

    By Associated Press

    TALLAHASSEE: The Florida Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to repeal a law allowing Walt Disney World to operate a private government over its properties in the state, escalating a feud with the entertainment giant over its opposition to what critics call the “ Don’t Say Gay ” law.

    The proposal could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose series of theme parks have over the decades transformed Orlando into one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. And Democrats have warned that the move could cause local homeowners to get hit with big tax bills if they have to absorb bond debt from Disney — although such details are far from clear.

    The measures, pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, come as the governor battles with Disney after the company’s criticism of a new GOP law barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade as well as instruction that is not “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”

    The bill would eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the Disney government is known, as well as a handful of other similar districts by June 2023. The measure leaves room for the districts to be reestablished, with a Republican legislative leader signaling a likely restructuring of a 1967 deal that lawmakers struck with the company that allows it to provide services such as zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure.

    “By doing it this early, we have until next June or July to this put together, so we’re actually giving ourselves more time to be thoughtful,” Republican Senate President Wilton Simpson told reporters after the vote. “I don’t know how the end will come, but I know that this is a very worthy process that we’re taking and I think whatever comes out of it will be better than what we have today.”

    Still, the move represents the latest blow in a culture war harnessed by DeSantis as he runs for reelection and bolsters himself as a potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate through staunch opposition to liberal policies on race, gender and abortion.

    “If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy,” DeSantis wrote in a campaign fundraising email Wednesday. “As governor, I was elected to put the people of Florida first, and I will not allow a woke corporation based in California to run our state.”

    Democrats, the minority party in the Legislature, have railed against the proposal as clear retaliation against a company that has been a major economic driver in the state.

    “Let’s call this what it is, it’s the punitive, petulant political payback to a corporation who dared to say the emperor has no clothes, but if they behave this next election cycle, maybe we’ll put it back together,” said Sen. Gary M. Farmer, a Democrat.

    Disney did not return an email seeking comment. The company is one of Florida’s biggest private employers and last year said it had more than 60,000 workers in the state. It is not immediately clear exactly how Disney or neighboring governments would be affected if the district was dissolved.

    The push to punish Disney came after it announced it would suspend political donations in the state and said it was committed to supporting organizations working to oppose the state’s new law limiting sexual orientation or gender identify instruction in the classroom.

    DeSantis and other Republicans have lashed out at Disney and other critics of the law, arguing that the policy is reasonable and that parents, not teachers, should be addressing such topics with children.

    The creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, and the control it gave Disney over 27,000 acres (11,000 hectares) in Florida, was a crucial element in the company’s plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s. Company officials said they needed autonomy to plan a futuristic city along with the theme park. The city never materialized, however; instead, it morphed into the Epcot theme park.

    The Florida House of Representatives is expected to take up the bill Thursday.

  • Direct tax collection soars 48 per cent in FY22, advance tax payment up 41 per cent

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India’s collection from tax on personal and corporate income jumped over 48 per cent in the current fiscal after a 41 per cent surge in advance tax payments, mirroring sustained economic recovery in a year that witnessed two waves of coronavirus infections.

    Net collections of direct taxes until March 16, 2022, in the fiscal year that started on April 1, 2021, stood at Rs 13.63 lakh crore compared to Rs 9.18 lakh crore in the same period a year back, an official statement said.

    The net collections in direct taxes, which is made up of income tax on individual income, corporation tax on profits of companies, property tax, inheritance tax and gift tax, in the current fiscal is 35 per cent higher than the collection of Rs 9.56 lakh crore in the pre-pandemic year of 2019-20 (April 2019 to March 2020).

    Advance tax collections, the fourth installment of which was due on March 15, rose to Rs 6.62 lakh crore, up 40.75 per cent, the statement said, adding refunds aggregating to Rs 1.87 lakh crore have been issued in the current fiscal.

    Almost 53 per cent of all direct tax collection was from corporate tax, while 47 per cent came from personal income tax, including securities transaction tax (STT) on shares.

    The direct tax collections exceeded the budgeted Rs 11.08 lakh crore before the start of the fiscal and Rs 12.50 lakh crore revised estimates in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget for 2022-23 presented on February 1.

    The spread of the pandemic and the ensuing restrictions had impacted business activities in 2020-21.

    Towards the end of that fiscal, the economy had started to recover from the impact but was hit again by a second wave in April-May 2021 and a more recent third wave.

    The rapid containment of Omicron, vaccination and declines in new infections helped the recovery.

    “The figures of direct tax collections for the financial year 2021-22, as on March 16, 2022 show that net collections are at Rs 13,63,038.3 crore compared to Rs 9,18,430.5 crore over the corresponding period of the preceding financial year i.e FY 2020-21, representing an increase of 48.41 per cent,” the statement.

    The net collection in the current fiscal registered a growth of 42.50 per cent over the corresponding period of FY 2019-20 when the net collection was Rs 9,56,550.3 crore, and a growth of 34.96 per cent over the same period of FY 2018-19 when the net collection was Rs 10,09,982.9 crore.

    The net direct tax collections include corporate income tax (CIT) of Rs 7,19,035.0 crore (net of refund) and personal income tax (PIT) including STT of Rs 6,40,588.3 crore (net of refund).

    The gross collection of direct taxes (before adjusting for refunds) for the FY 2021-22 (as on March 16, 2022) stood at Rs 15,50,364.2 crore compared to Rs 11,20,638.6 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year.

    The gross collection for the FY 2019-20 was Rs 11,34,706.3 crore and that for FY 2018-19 was Rs 11,68,048.7 crore. The gross collection includes CIT of Rs 8,36,838.2 crore and PIT of Rs 7,10,056.8 crore.

    “Minor head wise collection (as on March 16, 2022), comprises advance tax of Rs 6,62,896.3 crore, tax deducted at source of Rs 6,86,798.7 crore, self-assessment tax of Rs 1,34,391.1 crore; regular assessment tax of Rs 55,249.5 crore; dividend distribution tax of Rs 7,486.6 crore and tax under other minor heads of Rs 3,542.1 crore,” the statement said.

    The cumulative advance tax collections for the current 2021-22 fiscal stood at Rs 6,62,896.3 crore as on March 16, 2022, as compared to Rs 4,70,984.4 crore for the corresponding period of the immediately preceding financial year.

    This was 50.5 per cent higher than Rs 4,40,281.4 crore advance tax collection in FY 2019-20 and 31 per cent more than Rs 5,06,714.2 crore mopped up in 2018-19.

    The advance tax figure of Rs 6,62,896.3 crore comprises CIT of Rs 4,84,451.8 crore and PIT of Rs 1,78,441.1 crore. “This amount is expected to increase as further information is awaited from banks,” the statement added.

    Refunds amounting to Rs 1,87,325.9 crore have also been issued in FY 2021-22 so far.

  • Three days left for those applying for the trust-from-dispute scheme, March 31 tax deadline

    Now only 3 days are left to apply under trust from the scheme dispute presented for resolution of income tax disputes. The period of the scheme was extended till 28 February on 31 January. On applying for this scheme, exemption of interest penalty etc. will also be provided on the controversial aircraft to the income tax payers applying for resolving the tax dispute under the scheme 31 March 2021 Till now, 3287 income tax payers from the state of Chhattisgarh have applied for the trust scheme from the dispute. So far 8087 cases of dispensed demand are pending in the state. Similarly, in Chhattisgarh, about 40 percent applications have been submitted under this scheme.

  • CAT campaign brought color, now foreign e-commerce companies will have to pay tax

    The campaign launched by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAT) against foreign e-commerce companies is slowly gaining color. It is being told that a provision has been made in the budget on foreign e-commerce companies that they will have to pay two percent additional tax. Kat has welcomed it.

    CAT national vice president Amar Parvani, state executive president Vikram Singhdev said that the provision made in the budget is that these companies, whether engaged in the business of selling goods or providing services or technical services, will be given two percent additional tax. have to give. He said that it has been clarified in the budget that this will also apply to the sale of goods, even if the provider is the owner of the e-commerce portal.

    Apart from this, this will also be applicable to the provisions of services through e-commerce even if the service provider itself is an e-commerce operator. He said that for a long time, CAT had been demanding from the government that e-commerce companies should be tightened. This is a major step in this direction. He said that these companies have played with the laws of the country, including the massive violation of FEMA and FDI policy.

  • Investors will get exemption in electricity bill, tax, transport, stamp duty

    As the bad phase of Corona period came to an end, in the new year, crowds of tourists thronged many famous places in Chhattisgarh. After the conditions are normal, the Board of Tourism has started work on a plan to attract private investors for investment in tourist destinations.

    Under the new tourism policy, investors will be given special exemption in electricity bill, tax, transport and stamp duty. This will benefit the investors as well as the tourism board and due to the facilities, tourists from all over the country and abroad will be attracted to visit the tourist places.

    Under the new tourism policy, facilities will be increased in the same tourist places in the initial phase, where hundreds of people go for picnics on weekends or holidays. Tourist places are planned to be specially visited near Kawardha near Chilfi Valley, Achanakmar, Amarkantak, Hasdev Bango, Chitrakote, Gangrel Dame of Dhamtari, Satarenga, Devphari, Water Fall, Mainpat etc. near Fingeshwar. The number of new cruises and houseboats will be increased at picnic sites along the river, lake.