Skip to main content

CBDT Chairman Promises Speedy Solution to Startups’ Tax Worries

By
The government may soon find a solution to address the tax concerns of startups, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Sushil Chandra said. “Very shortly, we will find out a solution on the basis of the suggestions we have received. We will have to decide which startups are real startups and how they can be exempted from Section 56 (2) of the Income Tax Act,” he said at an Assocham function here on Thursday. Various startups had raised concerns over the notices sent to them under this section to pay tax on angel investments. The CBDT chief said any startup recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is exempt from Section 56 (2) and the tax notices sent to startups have been stayed. Last week, officials from the department, along with tax department officials, met startup industry representatives to hear their suggestions. Section 56 (2) provides that the amount raised by a startup in excess of its fair market value would be deemed income from other sources and taxed at 30%. It’s also been dubbed the angel tax.
LINKING PAN AND AADHAAR
Chandra said the income-tax department has so far issued 420 million permanent account numbers (PAN), of which 230 million have been linked with Aadhaar, the biometric data-based identity number. “By linking with Aadhaar, we will know whether there are any duplicate PANs or not. And there are certain duplicate PANs... If it is not linked, we may cancel the PAN also,” he said, adding that once Aadhaar is linked with PAN and PAN is linked with bank accounts, the I-T department can find out the spending patterns and other details of assessees. With Aadhaar, it would be easier to gauge whether the benefits of welfare schemes are reaching those who are eligible for them, said Chandra. Chandra said that so far this year, 9.5 million new taxpayers have been added.
“It is not absolutely true that if we reduce tax rates, compliance goes up. During this year we have followed the policy of finding non-filers... We have got thirdparty information and we are checking whether persons are filing returns or not, whether adequate income is being shown,” he added. Chandra said the I-T department is getting information about foreign assets held by people that have not been disclosed in their income tax returns.

The Economic Times, 08th February 2019

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RBI deputy governor cautions fintech platform lenders on privacy concerns during loan recovery

By
  India's digital lending infrastructure has made the loan sanctioning system online. Yet, loan recovery still needs a “feet on the street” approach, Swaminathan J, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said at a media event on Tuesday, September 2, according to news agency ANI.According to the ANI report, the deputy governor flagged that fintech operators in the digital lending segment are giving out loans to customers with poor credit profiles and later using aggressive recovery tactics.“While loan sanctioning and disbursement have become increasingly digital, effective collection and recovery still require a 'feet on the street' and empathetic approach. Many fintech platforms operate on a business model that involves extending small-value loans to customers often with poor credit profiles,” Swaminathan J said.   Fintech platforms' business models The central bank deputy governor highlighted that many fintech platforms' business models involve providing sm
Post a Comment
Read more

Credit card spending growth declines on RBI gaze, stress build-up

By
  Credit card spends have further slowed down to 16.6 per cent in the current financial year (FY25), following the Reserve Bank of India’s tightening of unsecured lending norms and rising delinquencies, and increased stress in the portfolio.Typically, during the festival season (September–December), credit card spends peak as several credit card-issuing banks offer discounts and cashbacks on e-commerce and other platforms. This is a reversal of trend in the past three financial years stretching to FY21 due to RBI’s restrictions.In the previous financial year (FY24), credit card spends rose by 27.8 per cent, but were low compared to FY23 which surged by 47.5 per cent. In FY22, the spending increased 54.1 per cent, according to data compiled by Macquarie Research.ICICI Bank recorded 4.4 per cent gross credit losses in its FY24 credit card portfolio as against 3.2 per cent year-on-year. SBI Cards’ credit losses in the segment stood at 7.4 per cent in FY24 and 6.2 per cent in FY23, the rep
Post a Comment
Read more

India can't rely on wealthy to drive growth: Ex-RBI Dy Guv Viral Acharya

By
  India can’t rely on wealthy individuals to drive growth and expect the overall economy to improve, Viral Acharya, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday.Acharya, who is the C V Starr Professor of Economics in the Department of Finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business (NYU-Stern), said after the Covid-19 pandemic, rural consumption and investments have weakened.We can’t be pumping our growth through the rich and expect that the economy as a whole will do better,” he said while speaking at an event organised by Elara Capital here.f there has to be a trickle-down, it should have actually happened by now,” Acharya said, adding that when the rich keep getting wealthier and wealthier, they have a savings problem.   “The bank account keeps getting bigger, hence they look for financial assets to invest in. India is closed, so our money can't go outside India that easily. So, it has to chase the limited financial assets in the country and
Post a Comment
Read more