Tax Proposals

Govt notifies Finance Act 2026, gives effect to changes in tax provisions

The government has notified the Finance Act 2026, paving way for effecting changes in tax provisions. This Act gives effect to financial proposals of the central government for 2026-27, a gazette notification dated March 30 issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice said. "The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on March 30, 2026 and is hereby published for general information," it said. Last week, Parliament approved the Finance Bill 2026 with the Rajya Sabha returning it to the Lok Sabha with a voice vote, completing the budgetary exercise for the next fiscal year starting April 1. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on March 25, along with 32 amendments. The Rajya Sabha returned the bill after a brief discussion, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replied to queries raised by members. The Union Budget 2026-27 envisages a total expenditure of Rs 53.47 lakh crore, an increase of 7.7 per cent over the current fiscal year ending March 31. The total

Simpler tax rules, quicker dispute resolution among key Budget demands

CII, Ficci, Assocham and PHDCCI have made common recommendations for Budget 2026-27, seeking predictable tax rules, rationalised TDS slabs, and faster resolution of pending appeals

Tax proposals a mixed bag

Unlike recent Budgets, this year most taxpayers are in for a pleasant surprise with rationalisation of rates and slabs, which reduce the effective tax burden. In balance, it's a mixed bag

From 6 pillars of Budget 2021 to tax proposals: Decoding the fineprint

In her Budget speech that lasted for around 1 hour and 45 minutes, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman doled out enormous amounts for railways, roadways, health care, education as well as the agriculture sector. Besides, the finance minister laid out a new import structure along with proposals for a conducive environment to usher in investments into FinTech, insurance and Start-ups. Further, the minister set aside Rs 20,000 crore for public sector bank re-capitalisation and gave a push to digital payments and research in Artificial Intelligence. Business Standard's Shrimi Choudhary analyses the key announcements made by the finance minister in this video.

Budget 2020: Govt may increase spending on infra, offer tax incentives

In annual economic report, the government predicted that economic growth would pick up to 6.0% to 6.5% in the fiscal year beginning April 1

New tax proposals worry market participants

A set of proposals for capital gains tax on shares acquired without paying the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) is creating nervousness in the stock markets. The government has asked for reactions to be sent by the coming Tuesday.Legal experts say the wording of the draft notification could expose employee stock options (ESOPs) and off-market share purchases to capital gains.According to the circular's Clause (B), acquiring any listed company's shares other than through a recognised stock exchange would attract capital gains.Although ESOPs are commonly considered subscriptions, several judgments delivered by courts have highlighted that these are purchases made by employees in fthe orm of services rendered to the company. Also, allotment of ESOPs doesn't take place on a stock exchange platform. Hence, ESOPs would attract Clause (B). "If the intention is not to tax ESOPs, there should explicitly be an exception in the final circular," said Amit Singhania, partner, Shardul Amarchand ..