(INFO) Highlights of Budget 2005

Highlights of Budget 2005

• Direct tax: Upto Rs 1 lakh nil; Rs 1-1.5 lakh 10 pc; 1.5-2.5 lakh 20 pc; above 2.5 lakh 30 pc
• Exemption for women upto 1.25 lakh; for senior citizens 1.50 lakh
• Standard deduction removed
• More taxes on perks
• Tax relief for consolidated savings upto 1 lakh
• No change in corporate tax for foreign companies
• Corporate tax to be 30 pc; surcharge 10 pc
• Depreciation on plant and machinery to be 15 pc
• STT to be increased to 0.02 pc from 0.015 pc for day traders
• Cash withdrawals above Rs 10,000 on a single day to be taxed 0.1 pc
• New services brought under tax net

• Cutoms duty: Peak rate of non-agro products cut from 20 to 15 pc
-On textiles cut to 10 pc
-Duty for capital goods reduced
-Duty on footwear machinary cut to 10 pc
-Duty for coking coal cut to 10 pc
-For refrigerated van from 20 pc to 10 pc
-Software exempted from Countervailing duty
Excise duty:
• Cigarette and tobacco products to be costlier
• Cement to be cheaper
• Handmade matches removed from excise duty
• To abolish Re 1 per kg cess on tea
• No changes in retail prices of petrol and diesel
• Excise on PFY, ACs reduced to 16 pc
• No stamp duty for corporatisation of stock exchange
• Defence allocation increased by 83,000 cr
• 70 lakh extra jobs in IT in 2009
• FIIs to give collateral on derivatives trade
• 30 textile items to be dereserved
• New Banking Bill to be introduced
• Banking cos allowed to issue pref shares
• Subsidy for agriculture at Rs 16,254 cr
• Capital subsidy allocation for SSIs upto 173 cr
• Drop in interest rate for sugar industry
• Insurance schemes covering 2 lakh weavers
• Rs 5500 cr for urban renewal mission
• SMEs in pharma, IT to get equity support
• Companies can renogotiate their debt
• Forex to be used for infrastructure projects
• Rs 450 cr for highway development in North East
• FDI in mining, trade and pension to be liberalised
• Trade policy to be further liberalised VAT: Entire manufacturing and distribution line to be covered soon
• To remove cap/floor for SLR for banks
• IRDA's micro insurance plan to be supported
• Micro finace institutes to be promoted
• PSE focus: Rs 14,040 cr equity support and 3554 cr as loans for PSEs
• Massive tea re-plantation plan
• 10 pc capital subsidy scheme for textile processing sector
• Rs 400 cr for micro irrigation
• Rs 14, 279 cr allocation for J&K
• 60 lakh additional houses for rural poor
• Electricity to 1.25 lakh villages
• Telephone connectivity to 66,822 villages
• Loans for rural areas to increase by 30 pc
• Services sector to get stable tax policy
• New backward regions grant fund to get Rs 5,000 cr
• Rural infrastructure fund to get Rs 8,000 cr
• Increase in drinking water supply projects
• National rural health mission to start in FY'06
• Schemes for SC/STs; Rs 6,253 cr allocated
• Greater credit flow to urban poor
• CMP mandated growth rate to be 7-8 pc
• Gross budgetary support up 16.9 pc
• Central assistance for teaching Urdu
• Special schemes for Bihar
• Mid-day meal allocation up at Rs 3,010 cr ICDS allocation up 47 pc
• Rs 630 cr outlay for sanitation
• Allocation for health and family welfare 10,280 cr
• Special schemes for SC/ST students
• Food for work programme in 250 districts
• Health allocation to increase to 10,280 cr
• Crude oil duty
• Education allocation 18,337 cr
• Subsidy for rural development 18,334 cr
• Plan expenditure to be raised by 25.6 pc
• Investment buoyant in FY' 06
• Growth estimated at 6.9 pc
• 10,216 cr for tsunami relief and rehabilitation

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