Sunday, November 15, 2009

Latest Income tax News from India

Find here below the latest income tax news from many sources....

1.

Taxability of non-resident: Yet another U-turn by CBDT

Economic Times - ‎Nov 13, 2009‎
Lately, the Central Board of Direct Taxes or CBDT (which is the highest ranking executive authority for income taxes in India) has withdrawn several of its ...


2.

Gold touches all-time high

Chandigarh Tribune - ‎Nov 7, 2009‎
Pooling of capital gains funds to buy a single property is a grey area and approval of the same would depend upon the Income Tax officer's discretion. ...

3.

IT dept plans to make names of habitual tax defaulters public

Financial Express - ‎Nov 8, 2009‎
New Delhi: Tax defaulters beware. The income tax department is considering publishing the names of habitual tax defaulters with large tax demands pending. ...


4.

How you can cut your tax liability

Rediff - ‎Oct 28, 2009‎
Certain investment options have been provided in the Income Tax Act, 1961, which, when exercised, can help in reducing tax liability. ...


5.

Loan puzzle

Calcutta Telegraph - ‎Nov 1, 2009‎
So, any income from investment of the gifted amount will be clubbed with your income and you shall have to pay income tax thereon. ...

Monday, November 2, 2009

Difference between Mens Brain and Womens Brain

I know this a totally unrelated subject of this blog and the whole idea as such but i just couldn't hold my self from posting this excellent video about the difference in Men's Brain and Women's Brain. You really have to see this to believe....

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Why you should avoid taking a loan

Many of us fall into a debt trap just for the fact the easy availability of debt/loans. We saw something in the market and it says you can get it financed easily so we take a loan, we have a travel plan and instead of saving up for it we take the easy route out by just taking a loan. Getting Married want a dashing ceremony easy take a loan. And at the end of it all we see that most of our income is going into paying those loans like the EMI for the House, EMI for the Car, for the refurnishing of the house and all other kinds of loan we can come up with. The overall impact - you tend to save less, your always thinking about money, your retirement kitty is down and all those things with a lot of tension. We should

1. Be very conservative about taking a loan.

2. A loan should be taken for which we can afford paying the EMI. It should not be more than 20% of our monthly income.

3. If we are planning to take a loan for marriage, we can either delay the big day or just plan something we can afford.

4. A loan for just refurnishing you house is not a sensible thing to do. We can maybe just have furniture we can afford.

5. Avoid as far as possible to keep any credit card debt. This is the biggest sin of them all.

6. Personal loans should be avoided as far as possible, since they have a very high interest rate and we generally tend to take them for expenses we can avoid.


Related Posts

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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Fixed deposit / Term Deposit Interest Rates

I heard on the news the other day that banks are revising the deposit interest rates for the fixed / term deposits and i was actually looking for a deposit to be made. So different banks have different interest rates for fixed deposits (Term Deposits) and it gets very complicated if you start to look for the best interest rate in the market, its very difficult to go to each bank and find out the best interest rates. I have made a list of all the interest rates presently on my Google docs page and am sharing it with everyone and will hopefully update it as i get more information. The as on date interest rates for fixed deposits / terms deposits can be found on the this link....


Related Links

Post Office Investment Schemes


What is NAV

Define the term EMI

My Investment Strategy

Money Mistakes

What is P/E ratio

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Sunday, September 6, 2009

Post Office Investment Schemes

One very good friend of mine today asked me about the Post Office Investment Schemes, so i thought why not share the information with everyone. So here it is in brief about all the Post office schemes....

1. National Savings Scheme - I have been investing in these certificates for some time now. They are issued by Department of post, Government Of India and are available at all post offices in the country. It is a long term safe savings Option for the investor. It is actually also a tax saving scheme which also provides reasonable secured as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The duration of a NSC scheme is 6 years. More features of the Scheme can be found here.....


2. Kisan Vikas Patra - I have recently invested in this scheme(KVP), it basically doubles your money in 7 years and 3 months and you can also do a premature withdrawal. It does not provide tax saving benefit. Also available at all major Post throughout India. The rate of return is 9.75 per cent, compounded annually. More Features of the Scheme Can be found here.....

3. Monthly income scheme (MIS) - This is one scheme i am planning to invest in just for the heck of getting a monthly income. Its an ideal scheme for retirees and you will see a lot of them have invested in them just to get the monthly payment of interest income. It is meant for investors who want to invest a sum amount initially and earn interest on a monthly basis for their livelihood. is meant to provide a source of regular income on a long term basis. More Features of the scheme can be found here.....

4. Recurring Deposit - I have one of these running for my son, i invest a monthly sum into this scheme and at the end of the period of five years, i will get a lump sum amount. It is basically a systematic way for long term savings, and is one of the best investment option for the low income groups. More Features of the scheme can be found here....

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Video on tips on Why you should use a budget

Found this great video on the youtube regarding " How to Budget Personal Finances ; Why you should use a Budget"





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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Cost of Living in Mumbai - Last Part

Further to Part 1 and Part 2 of Cost of Living in Mumbai, here's the final part for the same...


3. Home (Food and groceries) – A couple living in Mumbai could get a monthly bill of 10000 INR to 15000 INR per month on groceries alone. I am listing down a few costs here below just to show you the living costs in Mumbai for Groceries….


Milk (1 Ltr.) – 35 INR,
Butter (500 gms) – 85 INR
Eggs 12 (large) – 28 INR
Rice (Long Grain) – 50 INR
Sugar (1 Kg White) – 25 INR
Corn Flakes (Packet of 375 gms) – 90 INR
Mineral Water (1 ltr.) – 15 INR
Tea Bags (Pack of 25) – 30 INR
Coke (1.5 Ltrs) – 45 INR
Coffee (Instant 125 gms.) – 118 INR
Ketchup (340 gms) – 58 INR
Marmalade/Jam (370 gms) – 80 INR
Chicken (whole Fresh 1KG) – 120 INR
Table Salt ( 500 gms) – 15 INR
Potatoes/Tomatoes/Onions (1KG) – 20 INR to 25 INR
Apples (1 Kg) – 135 INR
Grapes (1 Kg)/Pineapple(can 500 gms) – 100 INR
Lamb Chops ( 1kg) – 250 INR
Laundry Detergent(2.5 Kg) – 250 INR
Dishwashing Liquid(500 ml) – 60 INR
Toothpaste (120 gms) – 34 INR
Shampoo ( 200 ml) – 75 INR
Soap ( bar 150 gms) – 28 INR
Shaving razors (pack of 5) – 20 INR
Beer (Local can 330 ml) – 45 INR
Scotch Whiskey(0.75 ltrs) – 1000 INR


4. Utilities – The largest provider of landline telephone is the state run MTNL which also provides internet, GSM and CDMA mobile phone service. There are also many private players in the landline services like Tata, Reliance, Airtel etc. The average monthly rental for a land line phone is 375 INR, some free calls are included in this cost. You can purchase both CDMA and GSM type phones here. CDMA phones can be directly bought from the service providers like Reliance and Tata Indicom an average phone can cost from 2000 INR, the cost of making a call is as cheap as 0.50 INR depending on your plan. You can buy your GSM phones from Nokia, Samsung etc. and the cost of a SIM card is 90 INR for a lifetime incoming facility free. The energy cost for a couple for a month staying a 1000 sqft apartment could be 2000 INR. Internet for a 2MBPS ADSL connection can cost 700 INR/month.

5. Clothing – You will find all Major brands here including Levi’s, Lee, Adidas, Marks and Spencers, NEXT etc. The cost of Women’s shoes is 850 INR (you could also get them cheaper at 150 INR but then the quality is really bad). Men’s Shoes can cost INR 1000 and a Men’s Suit starts from 6000 INR and a pair of jeans can start from 550 INR. Women’s dresses can start at 1150 INR and a nice Indian Suit can cost 2500 INR.

6. Cars and travel – You can hire a taxi for 13 INR/km, while the fare for local City buses for 3Kms is 5 INR and you can hire a Chauffer driven car for 1000 INR for the whole day limited to some Kms for 8 hours. You can travel by the local trains the life line of Mumbai for 1000 INR monthly pass. You can also buy a car – The Suzuki Maruti Hatchback Swift costs about 500000 INR and the sedan Honda City can start from 900000 INR. You can also take a loan on the car which as an annual interest of 9.5% to 11 %. Being a very crowded city it is better to buy a small car, you can get around faster and also parking problems are solved.

7. Miscellaneous Expenses for living in Mumbai – A visit to the doctor can cost you 225 INR for a general physician to 1000 INR for a specialist. The Domestic help can cost INR 3000 for cooking and cleaning and a driver for the car can cost 7000 INR to 9000 INR. The fee for fitness club per annum can cost 13500 INR. The web CafĂ© for 30 minutes is 15 INR.

Conversion Rate at the time of writing the blog -

1 USD = 49 INR
1 Euro = 70 INR


Related Post

Cost of Living in Delhi

Cost of Living in Mumbai - Part 1

Cost of living in Mumbai - Part 2


How to make a family budget