Life's finally easier at the bottom, with higher savings in the hands of the Aam Aadmi. Health-care & Services companies get a stronger tax dose along with increased spending on health-care making quality drugs and services more affordable for the common man.

Rating : Not Rated

The hike in Short term capital gains tax is a positive move as it will encourage individuals to focus more on value (versus momentum) and remain invested for longer period.

Rating : Not Rated

The proposal which may seem negative for the market at first glance - like the hike in short term capital gains will be accepted without much ado by market players. A great positive is that the government is focusing more on tax compliance than increasing tax rates. Using PAN is an effective tool in this regard.”

Rating : Not Rated

This budget carries a general feel good aspect because if we see on one hand the excise duty across the board has been reduced to 14% which would mean that goods becoming cheaper on the other hand higher income is put in the hands of people by increasing the basic tax exemption limit.

Rating : Not Rated

The budget proposals of additional deduction of Rs.15,000/- under section 80D being allowed to an individual who pays medical insurance premium for his/her parents may boost health insurance to some extent and may bring a section of population hitherto uncovered under the insurance umbrella. But it may not cover a large segment of the insured population. Service Tax remaining unchanged is a welcome sign.”

Rating : Not Rated

By levying service tax on assets managed under ULIPs, the proposal will act as a deterrent to long-term savings as it could result in higher costs for the customer. There will be systems and process implications for companies which too could result in increased costs for the customer. We are disappointed that, again, there has been no separate limits for long-term and short-term savings. The salaried section will be hit badly as the corpus on retirement will be insufficient as most people are investing only Rs. 100,000 at present in both long-term and short-term saving instruments.

Rating : Not Rated

Relief has been provided under Personal taxation by increasing the threshold exemption limit from Rs 1.10 Lakh to Rs 1.50 Lakh. Similar benefits have been given to Women and Senior Citizens. Further, the slabs for 10%, 20% and 30% rate have been liberalized. Consequently, the benefit to an individual having income exceeding Rs 5 Lacs would be Rs 44,000 which is quite substantial. On Service tax, increase in threshold limit from Rs 8 Lacs to Rs 10 Lakh is a welcome measure.

Rating : Not Rated

"Banking Transaction Tax was introduced primarily to capture and track large withdrawals. Doing away with this certainly eliminates administrative burden and practical problems associated with collection and deposition of BCTT."

Rating : Not Rated

"The lowering of excise duty and the increase in income tax slabs will mean more disposable income with consumers and lower prices of goods."

Rating : Not Rated

"There has been no relief on service tax on rentals which will continue to increase pricing pressure, though in the short to medium term this will not have a drastic impact as supply outstrips demand. Eventually, the burden would be passed on to tenants.Clarity on Reverse Mortgage on the stream of revenue received by senior citizens will not be treated as 'income' will ease the cash flow for senior citizens. The possibility of avoiding the incidence of double dividend distribution tax is a good move since a lot of real estate assets are held by companies in SPVs."

Rating : Not Rated

By placing the allocation charges of ULIPs under the service tax fold, while the entry load of other market-led instruments are not, ULIPs offered by life insurers are not being provided a level playing field. The Budget proposal on service tax for management of investment under ULIPs has taxed the transparency of the ULIP product structure, amounting to higher incidence of taxation for customers.

Rating : Not Rated

There has been no relief on service tax on rentals which will continue to increase pricing pressure, though in the short to medium term this will not have a drastic impact as supply outstrips demand. Eventually, the burden would be passed on to tenants.

Rating : Not Rated

Reverse mortgage will not amount to transfer of property and is therefore not taxable. This will help popularize the very progressive concept of reverse mortgage and encourage purchase of property by/for senior citizens.

Rating : Not Rated

By individually bringing the various components (of a ULIP) under the service tax net, the Budget proposal on service tax for management of investment under ULIPs has taxed the transparency of the ULIP product structure, amounting to higer incidence of taxation for customers.

Rating : Not Rated

The common man out there, will be very happy today, with the announcement of new tax slabs. In addition to this, the excise duty cuts will mean cheaper goods. The only negative I see is the point that Section 80C could have been rationalised further. For example the education fee, which is not actually an investment but an expenditure should be given special provision outside 80C.

Rating : 7 / 10