Aasha Khosa writes in Business Standard that the finance minister might effect a modest hike of about 4.5 per cent in the nation's defence budget, if the Army is unable to find a way to spend Rs 4,000 crore on capital equipment.
Under the fiscal responsibility law, ministries that are unable to spend the money they had been allocated within a prescribed timeframe, would have to return the unspent funds.

Sify, quoting Hindu Business Line, says that the Budget might see service tax rates being increased to 14 per cent. Also, excise duty on cars might alos not be reduced.
This means your credit cards and other services you buy will be more expensive.

Prashant K Sahu from Business Standard says that Finance Minister P Chidambaram is considering waiving withholding tax, dividend distribution tax and tax deducted at source on corporate bonds for companies investing in infrastructure projects, in Budget 2007-08.
This will help improve investor returns and access to funds to meet India’s requirement of $320 billion of investment in infrastructure in five years.

Moneycontrol helps you with the fiscalspeak that makes the Budget papers seem Greek.

Section 1 of the Finance Bill 2007 speaks about the date of applicability of all sections of The Finance Bill, 2007. Here, you will find a mention that, unless otherwise mentioned, all sections will come into force on the first day of April 2007. This means most sections of Finance Bill 2007 apply for the whole assessment year 2007-2008, relevant to the financial year 2006-2007, over the assessment year 2008-2009.

Corporate India, says Times Now, has a lot of expectations from the finance minister in this Budget.
India Inc wants simplification in taxes as currently 30% corporate tax, a 10% surcharge and a 2% education cess is levied on company profits. This amounts to an effective tax rate of 33.66%.

Mr Chidambaram has continued the steps he initiated in his earlier tenure as finance minister in the late 1990s, in his last budget. Overall the macro economic picture is buoyant, with 8% economic growth over the last 4 years and forecast of 9.2% economic growth in this financial year.

The thrust on education, rural development, infrastructure and urban renewal in the last budget was a welcome move. The cut in custom and excise duties and no increase in direct tax rates was a positive for the markets.

The increase in service tax rates and STT has been taken in its stride by the market. The intention to evolve a consensus on the three areas of subsidies - food, fertilizers and petrol demonstrated both coalition dharma and political maturity. However, this was not addressed in the course of the year.

This year, the expectations from the Budget are as follows:

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The Government is likely to slash import duties in its annual budget next week as it seeks to curb rising prices, but is unlikely to alter corporate or income tax rates significantly as it relies on strong growth to boost its coffers.

Analysts said the centre-left government was expected to cut a third of peak import duties from 12.5 percent to bring them more in line with those in the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) and help restrain inflation, which is at its highest in more than two years.

The Congress party-led coalition hopes lower duties will lead to more imports, dampening price pressures in an economy where factories are stretched and demand has far outstripped supply.

The government has already eased some duties as growth of an estimated 9.2 percent this fiscal year has driven annual inflation up to 6.7 percent. But analysts see scope for more.

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India is fortunate to have one of the youngest, most vibrant populations in the world. It's a country where old and new economies merge, throwing up a myriad of opportunities, and resulting in sustained GDP growth of 8 to 9% per annum.

This is our biggest strength as we rightfully claim our position as an economic superpower.

We must learn from other countries and adopt policies that will ensure long-term social equity and productivity. In this respect, there are two major needs - securing a steady income for our retirees who have contributed to the economy for many working years; and ensuring that our young population remains healthy and continues to operate at maximum productivity.

First, let's address the need for old age income security. In India, there is no social security system, and only those who are in government services - about 11% of the organized workforce - can be assured of a pension for their old age.

The rest must save during their working years to ensure that they have an adequate income to cover their lifestyle and medical expenses in their old age. Only this can secure against financial destitution in old age and ensure that our elders can live a dignified and enjoyable retired life.

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After a span of nearly a decade the government has woken up to reform the real estate sector. The fine print of the many proposals is yet to come out. The developers and builders in India have been having a field day with no control over built up and carpet areas, illegal property documents and constructions, possession related issues and many more illegal entanglements.

The government, this year, should act in ways wherein the consumer's interest is protected. A few expectations, which one could have from the budget, are as follows:

1. Continuation of section 80IB of the Income Tax Act

This section gives tax relief to the builders for construction of units, which are less than 1000 square feet built up in metros. The benefits under this section come to an end from this year. A lot of builders have created houses under this scheme and consumers are benefited through the mass construction.

The only problem here is that while the builder gets the tax relief there is nothing passed on to the consumer. A majority of homebuyers are unaware of this tax respite, which the government has given to the builders.

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With the government exploring various options to attract long-term funds for infrastructure, savings in certain categories up to Rs 1,30,000-1,50,000 a year may qualify for income tax exemption in the coming Budget against Rs 1,00,000 currently.

Over and above Rs 1,00,000, income tax exemption might be given for another Rs 30,000-50,000, especially for infrastructure, sources told PTI. Or alternatively, there might be consolidated savings limit of Rs 1,30,000-1,50,000 they said.

The finance ministry might also go for raising zero income tax slab to Rs 1,50,000 against the current level of Rs 1,00,000, they said.

The Ministry is looking at these three options and one of them may figure in the Budget, the sources said. However, the possibility of raising the income tax slab to Rs 1,50,000 is remote, they said.

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