Simple strategies to meet your cash flow needs after retirement

India is a saver’s economy. During the working years sacrifices are made for the benefit of the  family and retirement is keenly looked forward to. Advertisements of retirement products paint a picture of a comfortable retirement by the sea and that your life could be one happy vacation. However, in our experience as and when individuals start approaching their retirement they start to dread it. Questions such as are they well prepared for retirement, have they saved enough, and biggest dilemma faced is  where to invest this large sum of money in order to get a regular cash flow to become financially independent. What do you do to actually turn your retirement into one big happy vacation?

Effective cash flow management is the key to a successful retirement. The magic lies in creating a strategy that generates a regular inflation adjusted income for you and your surviving spouse, lasts you a life time and offers liquidity.

Strategy 1: Create a regular income stream

Every individual wants to be financially self sufficient. In the absence of a joint family, being financially independent is not a desire but a must have in your golden years. If you need money for your day to day expenses, then getting a payout once in 3 or 6 months doesn’t help. A lot of retirees rely on dividend income either from stocks or their mutual funds. This is a huge mistake which becomes evident with time when the steady income from salary has stopped completely. Receiving a dividend from your investments when you have a  salary feels great because it provides an additional income. What most people don’t realize is that the dividend is actually paid out at irregular intervals and the amount is also inconsistent. Similarly, the interest payout from your corporate FD might be on a quarterly basis or twice a year and now locked in until maturity.

How to execute this strategy?

To be financially independent at all times you have to ensure you have created multiple income streams and timed the out flow to suit your requirement. If you need to pay salaries and bills towards the start of the month, then set the payout around that time. Opt for monthly interest payout from FDs and set up a Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) from your Mutual Fund investments on a monthly or bimonthly basis. This way you will know exactly when your next payout will happen and manage your expenses and bill settlements better. You will also be more in control of your finances rather than being helpless because of a bad strategy which can now not be easily changed.

Strategy 2: Generate an inflation adjusted income

Thanks to the increase in programs aimed towards investor education, many individuals understand and are aware of the impact of inflation on their income and wealth. The income that you receive should be able to beat inflation and help you live your life comfortably and on your terms. The current consumer inflation rate is at 4.17% however, it is essential to consider your lifestyle inflation which rises faster than food inflation. It would be wise to adjust your income against an inflation of 7-8%. The income that would have sufficed today will not manage to cover the same expenses next year due to inflation. On a yearly basis, you will notice that your bills are rising, so will the salary of your staff.

How to execute this strategy?

The interest income coming from your Fixed Deposits will not be able to implement this strategy since the returns are fixed and the amount is locked until maturity. You would not have the option to choose a higher payout even at the cost of wealth depletion.

This strategy can only to executed through a Systematic withdrawal Plan (SWP). With an SWP you have the option to increase or decrease the amount that is withdrawn from the investment. For eg. If your cash flow requirement is Rs 25000/month for the 1^st year, then with a Systematic withdrawal Plan you have the flexibility to adjust the payout by increasing it to Rs 27000/month which would be inflation adjusted. This way you can increase the payout from your debt funds using SWP strategy.

Strategy 3: Avoid excess liquidity as a part of contingency planning

Most senior citizens seek comfort in keeping large amounts of cash lying in their bank accounts. This they say is for emergencies and contingencies in case they need a lot of cash all of a sudden. Assume you have Rs 50 lakhs for your retirement corpus out of which if  5-10 lakhs are kept in your bank account for comfort then this is a very expensive way to deal with emergencies. With high inflation and increasing life expectancy, one can not afford to keep 10-20% of their wealth idle. At your age you will need every cent and penny to work as hard as it can.

How to manage liquidity?

If you have parked a large sum in your bank account, the reason has  less to do with emergencies and more to do with liquidity. With most of your money parked in illiquid assets like bonds, fixed deposits or real estate how do you get your money if a need arises. Liquid debt mutual funds are a perfect option since they provide both higher returns and offer liquidity. Liquid funds can generate a return of up to 6.5% and are highly liquid as the name suggests. You can redeem your units from a liquid any time and encash your money. You will receive your money in your bank account the next day.

Strategy 4: Plan your cash flow to avoid wealth depletion during your lifetime

With the advancement in medical sciences the average life expectancy in India has risen to be around 85 years. There is also a risk that both you and your spouse might outlive your life expectancy and live longer than what you had accounted for. This poses a threat to your financial independence as there is a possibility of your wealth getting depleted while you both are still alive. It therefore becomes important to invest your money in such a way that your portfolio can provide a steady cash flow not just for you but for your surviving spouse too and a little over your assumed life expectancy.

How to make this strategy work without compromising on your dreams?

As a retired person wealth preservation is of utmost importance however, if inflation and longevity poses a threat to your wealth and goals then you have to go beyond your comfort zone and add more growth assets in your portfolio. However, if there is a gap between the income that your portfolio can generate and your needs, then instead of taking excess equity exposure it is advisable to taper your expenses instead.

An expert financial planner will be able to execute and implement this strategy for you by creating a realistic portfolio which meets your income expectation and risk profile. A combination of debt and equity mutual funds should do the magic.

The secret to a successful retirement is a little bit of planning which can go a long way to turn your retirement into a happy vacation.

 

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Budget 2018 – Decoding proposed Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) Tax

One of the biggest items that came out from the recent Budget has been the reintroduction of Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) tax. This tax is applicable on gains arising from sale of  :

• Equity Shares in a listed company on a recognized stock exchange
• Units of Equity Oriented Mutual Funds; and
• Units of a Business Trust

The proposed tax is applicable to above assets if:

• They are held for a minimum of 12 months from date of acquisition
• The Securities Transaction Tax (STT) is paid at the time of transfer. However, in the case of equity shares acquired after 1.10.2004, STT is required to be paid even at the time of acquisition

(As per Notice by Ministry of Finance, dated 4^th February, 2018)

There are two major points in regards to the proposed regime:

1. The LTCG tax will be at a flat 10% for any long term gains in excess of Rs 1 lakhs, starting from Financial Year 2018-19 i.e. 1^stApril, 2018. In other words, all long term capital gains realized up until 31^st March, 2018 will be exempt from the proposed tax.
2. There is a “Grand Fathering” clause, which in essence ensures that all notional/realized long term capital gains up to 31^stJan 2018 will remain exempted from the proposed tax. This means that effectively the closing price of 31^st Jan 2018 would be the cost price for LTCG calculations.

How would the Long Term Capital Gains Tax be calculated?

If you sell after 31.3.2018 the LTCG will be taxed as follows:

The cost of acquisition of the share or unit bought before Feb 1, 2018, will be the higher of :
a) the actual cost of acquisition of the asset
b) The lower of : (i) The fair market value of this asset(highest price of share on stock exchange on 31.1.2018 or when share was last traded. NAV of unit in case of a mutual fund unit) and (ii) The sale value received

Scenarios for computation of Long Term Capital Gain

• Scenario 1:An equity share has been purchased on 1st Jan, 2017 at Rs. 100. Its Fair Market Value (FMV) as on 31^st Jan 2018 was Rs 200 and it was sold on 1^st April 2018 at Rs. 250.

As actual cost of acquisition is less than FMV, the FMV will be considered as cost of acquisition and therefore the LTCG will be Rs. 50 (Rs. 250 – Rs. 200)

• Scenario 2:An equity share has been purchased on 1st Jan, 2017 at Rs. 100. Its Fair Market Value (FMV) as on 31^st Jan 2018 was Rs 200 and it was sold on 1^st April 2018 at Rs. 150.

Actual cost of acquisition is less than FMV. However the sale value is also less than FMV. Therefore the sale value will be considered as cost of acquisition and therefore the LTCG will be NIL (Rs. 150 – Rs. 150)

• Scenario 3:An equity share has been purchased on 1st Jan, 2017 at Rs. 100. Its Fair Market Value (FMV) as on 31^st Jan 2018 was Rs 50 and it was sold on 1^st April 2018 at Rs. 150.

As actual cost of acquisition is more than FMV, the actual cost of acquisition will be considered as cost of acquisition and therefore the LTCG will be Rs. 50 (Rs. 150 – Rs. 100)

• Scenario 4:An equity share has been purchased on 1st Jan, 2017 at Rs. 100. Its Fair Market Value (FMV) as on 31^st Jan 2018 was Rs 200 and it was sold on 1^st April 2018 at Rs.50.

Actual cost of acquisition is less than FMV. As sale value is less than both the FMV and actual cost of acquisition, the actual cost of acquisition will be considered as cost of acquisition and therefore there will be Long Term Capital Loss of Rs. 50 (Rs.50 – Rs. 100). Long-term capital loss arising from transfer made on or after 1st April, 2018 will be allowed to be set-off and carried forward in accordance with existing provisions of the IT Act.

Note, there is no clause of indexation on cost of acquisition. Setting off cost of transfer or improvement of the share/unit will also not be allowed.

 

LTCG on these instruments realized after 31.3.2018 by an individual will remain tax exempt up to Rs 1 lakh per annum i.e. the new LTCG tax of 10% would be levied only on LTCG of an individual exceeding Rs 1 lakh in one fiscal. For example, if your LTCG is Rs 1,30,000 in FY2018-19, then only Rs 30,000 will face the new LTCG tax.

What should you do now with your Equity Portfolio?

Even with the reinstatement of this tax, we believe that equities are still an efficient post tax investment avenue. We would therefore continue to recommend to remain invested in equities provided the investment horizon is long. Alternatively, if you require monies in the short term, this may be a sound window to book profits and shift to less aggressive avenues.

 

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The Best Financial Resolutions for 2018

 

The New Year is a great time to overhaul your life for the better. And what better way to do it is make those kind of resolutions that will act as a constant guide in that endeavor. For this, Resolutions, like goals, are best when they’re specific.

Financial resolutions made during beginning of the New Year can determine the shape of your short and long term financial objectives whether is it increasing your savings for retirement or putting aside a little extra for this year’s down payment of that property.

If getting your financial life in order is a resolution for you this year, here are some ideas that may help you get there faster:

1. Save Smartly!:It is common knowledge that

• Income -Expenses = Savings

We suggest change that equation from this year, make it

• Income – Savings = Expenses

This new equation will help create an automatic budget, and will ensure you only spend after saving.

Use automatic investment ideas like SIPs and STPs to transfer your monthly savings to dedicated investments for your goals.

 2. Have Contingencies, for everything!:

Dangers and risks are ever present. They can have sudden and significant impact on your finances if they are realized. So it’s better to be safe that sorry.

• Having a highly liquid corpus (available to you in 48 hrs or less) is one way of doing it.
• Another useful and highly critical step is getting adequately insured. While a variety of insurances are up for grab, focus on the basics first. Sufficient health cover for your family and yourself should top the list.
• Followed by insurance for specific risks such as critical illnesses, accidents and even insurance for your home.
• Another smart thing you should do is take a insurance for any big ticket loan you may be servicing, such as a home loan. You do not want to burden your dependents in the event of you passing away, do you? 

3. Have a Strong Debt Strategy:

• Home Loans / Education Loans

Not all debts/loans are equal. It is essential for you to know which loan is drawing the most interest from you. Also some loans are useful, such as home loan as you have access to an appreciating physical asset or a educational loan from which you stand to appreciate the biggest asset of them all, yourself! Plus it does not hurt that they have tax deduction benefits.

• Personal / Credit Card Loans

Personal/Credit Card loans should be ticked off at the first available opportunity, simply because they have high interest rates. If you had to choose between investing into a fixed income product or pay off a high interest loan, you should ideally opt for repayment. Interest saved is interest earned after all! 

4. Know what you want:

It is said “If you don’t know where you are going, well then, any road will take you there”. It is better to have well defined goals. A goal helps you focus because the end objective is clear. For example, it is probably not enough to say, “I will save some money for that amazing Europe vacation that I always dreamed of.” It needs a lot of planning and finances. You not only need to know the destinations you will visit, you also need to the travel routes you will need to take, how much funds you will need, where all do you intend to spend and so on so forth. The more crisp your goal is, the better actionables you will be able to achieve.

 

5. Invest in yourself:

In today’s highly dynamic world, the word of the day is “reskilling”. As a professional, now more than ever, you have to stay on top in your industry by constantly upgrading your skill sets. Therefore always ensure you have enough kitty set aside so that you can opt for those special courses which will give you that edge in your profession.

While not all resolutions can be worked on simultaneously, it is important that you start with some and even more importantly that you stick to them. Give your resolutions time lines so you know what to prioritize. And work towards strong finances and a worry free New Year 2018!

 

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Why Risk Management is critical for HR Consultancy firms!!

Insurance is still a highly misunderstood concept in India. People often look at insurance plans as an investment option. Yet the golden rule of insurance is that it should always be separated from your investments. For a HR Consultancy Owner, a combination of various types of insurance policies can insulate the business as well as themselves and their family from potential risks. Insurance policies such as:

• Vanilla Term Life Insurance: This is a primary insurance that one should procure for pure life cover. The sole objective of such a policy is to ensure continued financial stability for your family in the eventuality of your sudden demise.
• An Individual/Family Health Insurance: This type of policy is meant to cover for standard hospitalization expenses in case of an illness. Depending on the requirements, such policies can cover just a single individual to a family of four and even more.

However, one must now look beyond these basic necessities. Someone who is constantly on the move and if he/she is the sole bread earner of the family needs to have other risks covered. Risks such as:

• Critical Illness Policy: Contracting a serious illness or undergoing a major surgery would mean a drag on your finances as well as a dent on income. This phase of “no cash inflow” could be extended if recovery periods take longer than expected due to a serious illness. As such a substitute income source has to be provided for such situations, either to pay, at least partially, for basic household expenses or fund the significant expenses that are part of any big medical procedure. Such financial risks can be mitigated by procuring a critical illness policy. Such policies usually provide for a lumpsum payment to tide over the finances needed in case of being diagnosed with a critical illness.
• Personal Accident Policy: Another source of risks associated with most professionals is loss of income/job due to an accident. In such cases, temporary or permanent disability caused due to any accident can force the individual to stop or totally cease his work. On top of that the costs related to recovery are usually on the higher side. Hence, similar to a Critical Illness Policy, this policy provides a supplement alternative income for certain weeks of disability depending on the terms of the policy which can be used to either pay off medical expenses or help in taking care of household expenses.

But insurance should not have to be curtailed to insure just the individual. Founders of HR consultancy firms are usually the most valued personnel in the organization. After all, they are ones that drive the image and the growth of the firm forward, eventually becoming indispensable to the firm. The firm therefore must look to protect itself from possible fall in revenue/image from unforeseen events related to such individuals. Policies such as:

• Keyman Insurance Policy: this is a policy that a firm takes for a key employee such as the CEO/Founder, through whom a lot of business is generated. Losing such a valuable individual due to his/her demise can lead to significant financial loss. Hence in addition to being tax efficient from the company standpoint, such a policy also helps the firm deal with such loss in case of an unfortunate event.
•  Directors and Officers Liability Policy: This is a little more unconventional type of a policy. It is specifically applicable only when to provide cover for the personal liability of Directors arising due to mistaken actions carried out by directors in pursuance of their managerial duties. Such policies covers paying for legal costs incurred while defending the individual director in a court of law. Such policies provide protection for claims brought against directors and officers for actual or alleged breach of duty.

A combination of such policies may be crucial for HR Consultancy Firm owners to cover risks. Uncertainties are the only certainty in life. And while you can never rule them out completely, you can soften the hardships that come with such hard times if you have the necessary insurances in place. In the end, that is the singular function of any Risk Management Plan.

 

 

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Why HR Consultancy Owners should plan their finances!

Money may not be the end in itself, but for most, it is a means to achieve many necessities as well as aspirations. From striving to improve one’s lifestyle to providing for your family and their requirements, money forms a critical element to ensure such objectives are met. Therefore it becomes important how an individual plans to use his/her hard earned money; More so when the inflows are not necessarily streamlined and consistent like that of any regular employee.

Being the owner/ partner of an HR Consultancy firm can bring about such financial challenges. Challenges such as:

• Separating Personal and Business Finances/Assets: Like any SME industry, HR Consultancy firm owners/partners often have their personal and business finances completely intertwined. Usually the business demands all the attention and inputs, often forcing the owner to align and every sacrifice to a certain extent on the personal financial needs. This often leads to personal assets being exposed to business risks. Professional advice can go a long way in separating both sides while ensuring requirements for both are met.
• Treasury Management: In the cut throat environment of HR Consultancy, business can have highly volatile periods resulting in fluctuating cash flows. The owner/partner generally does not have the time or expertise to better handle his company’s liquidity requirements or the expertise. A professional view might help you better manage such difficulties.
• Contingency Planning: With complete commitment to business requirements, owners/partners often forget to provision for personal emergencies. This more often than not results in these individuals turning to overdraft facilities and/or soft loans from members of close circles. Also, people consider their Bank Savings Account as an avenue that fulfils this purpose. While it does check on the liquidity parameter, it falls short on possible returns and taxation. A suitable alternative could be Liquid Mutual Funds. They provide the same liquidity, but also provide superior returns. And lastly, if these funds are held for 3 years or more, they are given preferential tax treatments due to indexation.
• Risk Planning: for very specific events, or in lay man term, Insurance Planning. Following are the types of insurance policies one must always have at all times:

• Term Life Insurance Plan: the plain vanilla term plan is exactly the only kind of life insurance anyone should purchase. Handy tip, to know the amount of cover you might need, start with at least 15 times your annual revenue/income. Don’t forget, insurance should never be mistaken for an investment!
• Individual Health Insurance: if nothing else, an individual health cover to at least cover your own standard hospitalization expenses is a must. Financial independence means you should be able to fend for yourself at the very least, even if it paying for your own recovery.

While more types of insurances, it is essential that this set is acquired first. Having your Contingency funds and Risk Planning in place makes a strong base for you to venture into the world of financial planning and investments.

• Planning for Retirement: Retirement, or as financial advisors put it, Financial Freedom, is something we all aspire for. The dream of not working for the sake of survival is a goal we all work towards. Yet having an uncertain income can make such a dream feel a little distant more often than not. And while retirement always seem likes a far off goal in comparison to what seem like more pressing concerns, it should ALWAYS be top priority! Underestimating your retirement’s financial needs can be the one of the biggest mistakes you could make and more often than not, people realise it far too late to make any significant course corrections. Even if you have to start with small amounts, it is the consistency and discipline that will ultimately help you reach your goal.
• Financial Goal Planning: With the pressure of handling both a business as well as personal priorities, identifying/planning/prioritizing for certain personal duties sometimes takes a back seat. It is in such moments that Financial Planning through a professional can make significant difference in how to navigate through such critical decisions.

For the owner/partner with volatile income, planning can become easier if you can channelize your savings in to the above mentioned order. Prioritizing can make all the difference! It is essentially in this area where the difference between financial planning for a self employed individual versus that for an employed individual lies.

 

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Budget2016 and your money

 

Reams of paper have probably been dedicated to the Union Budget already, but here is a detailed analysis after going through the fine print in terms of Budget 2016 and its impact on your personal finances.

Your Income

1. House Rent Allowance change: This has been hitherto a lesser used deduction as it comes with multiple conditions. Section 80GG allows individuals to claim a deduction in respect of house rent paid. The limit has gone up from Rs 24,000 previously to Rs 60,000 subject to following conditions:

a.If the person is either self-employed or salaried but does not receive deduction for       HRA from the employer

b.Does not own a residential property in the city in which he is staying on rent.

c.If the tax payer owns property at any place other than the one mentioned above, he        should not be claiming benefit of the property as self occupied. That property should be deemed to be let out.

To claim this deduction the tax payer has to furnish a declaration in Form 10 BA

The deduction allowed under section 80GG for payment of rent shall be least of the following:

1. 5,000 per month
2. Rent paid less 10% of the total income
3. 25% of the total income of the tax payer for the year.

Your Expenses

1. Tax collection at Source introduced – TCS of 1% on purchase of luxury cars of value greater than Rs. 10 lakhs and purchase of goods and services in cash exceeding Rs. 2 lakhs is now being levied. This does not change the price of the product but will create a trail of transactions in cash of high values, targeting cash usage.
2. Increase in service tax – Service tax has been increased by 0.5% on all taxable services, with effect from 1 June 2016. As a result, expect the costs of all services to go up.
3. Infrastructure cess- 1% on small petrol, LPG, CNG cars, 2.5% on diesel cars and 4% on high engine capacity vehicles and SUVs, will mean that cars will become more expensive.
4. Excise duty on branded ready made garments – garments with a retail price of Rs. 1000 and above has changed from Nil to 2% without input tax credit. Thus, expect garments to become a wee bit more expensive.
5. Excise duty on tobacco hiked – expect cigarettes to be more expensive as a result.

Your Investments

1. Long Term Capital Gains tax on equities and debt investments did not see any change – This is positive for investors, as there were fears around tax being introduced on equities or the holding period for equities being changed. Status quo is good news.
2. New Pension Scheme (NPS) – There are 3 types of withdrawals currently allowed under the NPS.
3. Normal Superannuation – Lump sum withdrawal on retirement, which was 60% earlier has been changed to 40% now. Earlier this withdrawal was taxable. Now the government has proposed withdrawal upto 40% to be tax free. The balance 60% can be used  for purchasing annuities, to make the annuity portion tax free as well. Thus, the NPS is far more attractive as an instrument to be used for your retirement goals now, especially as its ability to permit equity exposure enables you to get the wealth creation benefit of equities over the long term.
4. Upon death- The entire 100% would be paid to the nominee/ legal heir and there won’t be any purchase of annuity. These entire 100% proceeds are tax free.
5. Exit before normal superannuation( 60 years) – At least 80% of the acculturated pension wealth of the subscriber should be utilized for purchase of an annuity and remaining 20% can be withdrawn as lump sum. Considering that this is a long term retirement product, be sure to use the NPS to fund your retirement goals, as early withdrawals make it less flexible.
6. Other pension products like EPF and superannuation – There has been an attempt to bring all pension products on the same page in terms of taxation. Therefore, EPF and superannuation will also permit 40% of the corpus withdrawn to be tax free. The interest earned on the balance 60% of the contributions made post April 1, 2016 will be subject to tax unless it is used to purchase an annuity.

There is also proposed a monetary limit for contribution of employers to a recognized Provident and superannuation fund of Rs. 1.50 Lakh per annum or 12% of employer contribution, whichever is less, beyond which the same will be taxable in the hand of the employee. You could see smaller contributions towards the EPF from employers going forward as a result, and voluntary Provident Fund contributions could also reduce as a result.

4. REITS (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and InvITs ( Infrastructure Investment Trust) – Real Estate Investment trusts are listed entities that primarily invest in leased office and real assets allowing developers to raise funds by selling completed buildings to investors and listing them as a trust. Previously REITs did not take off due to taxation challenges. This budget has done away with Dividend Distribution Tax, thus enabling exposure to commercial real estate at lower values.

Expect Infrastructure Investment Trusts to also take off as a result of this change in dividend distribution tax provisions.

5. Gold Bonds- Long term capital gains from the sale of gold bonds will continue to be taxable but now eligible for indexation benefits. This facilitates taking exposure to gold in a paper form.

The budget has also proposed to make interest and capital gains from the gold monetization scheme tax free. Thus yields from gold are possibly now more attractive than rental yields from residential real estate, considering that the returns are tax free.

6. Measures for deepening of corporate Bond Market-

a. LICof india will setup a dedicated fund to provide credit enhancement to infrastructure projects. The fund will help in raising credit rating of bonds floated by infrastructure companies.

b.Development of an online auction platform for development of private placement market in corporate bonds.

c.A complete information repository for corporate bonds covering both primary and     secondary market segments will be developed jointly by SEBI and RBI.

d.A framework for an electronic platform for Repo market in corporate bonds will be    developed by RBI.

This will enable investors to invest in corporate bonds and give them another option to add fixed income exposure to their portfolio.

7. Fiscal target to be maintained at 3.5% – With the government sticking to its target of 3.5% of GDP for FY 17, fiscal discipline has been adhered to for now. This could lead to drop in bond yields and could be particularly positive for duration funds or portfolios having longer duration bonds. Transmission of falling interest rates could finally be a reality.

Your Taxes

1. There has been no major change in income tax slabs , for individuals earning upto Rs 1 crore.
2. Surcharge- There has been an increase in Surcharge on income above Rs. 1 Crore from 12% to 15%.

For an individual below 60 years with an income above 1 Crore ( eg. 1.1 Crore), he will end up paying approximately Rs 91,000 more due to the 3% increase in Surcharge.

3. Rebate- Under Section 87A, for individuals with income not exceeding Rs. 5 lakhs, the rebate has increased from Rs. 2,000 earlier to Rs. 5,000.

3. Dividend Distribution Tax- The amendment in dividend distribution tax law is applicable to dividend declared under Section 115O. The section is applicable to domestic companies and it is proposed to amend the Income-tax Act so as to provide that any income by way of dividend in excess of Rs. 10 lakh declared by such domestic company shall be chargeable to tax at the rate of 10%.The above amendment will have no impact on the dividends received by the Mutual Fund unit holders as dividend paid by a mutual fund scheme to a unit holder is covered under Section 115R of the The Income tax Act, 1961. This will hit investors drawing higher dividends but since it is not applicable to dividends from mutual funds it’s a relief.
4. Presumptive Tax – This scheme is available for small and medium enterprises with turnover not exceeding 1 crore rupees. These were free from getting audited and maintaining detailed books of account and could pay tax at 8% .This turnover limit has increased to Rs. 2 Crore.

Also under the presumptive taxation for professionals with gross receipts up to Rs. 50          Lakh, the presumption of profits has been introduced to 50% of gross receipts.

This should result in significant time saving and costs for professionals and small business owners. However, remember to read the fine print on this clause.

6. Reduction in tax slabs for companies with business income upto Rs 5 crores – The path to reduction of corporate tax rates has begun with a 1% reduction in tax rates for smaller businesses. Expect more to follow going forward.
7. Undisclosed income – A window from 01 June 2016 to 30 Sep 2016 has been introduced for people to pay 45% on their undisclosed domestic income. This undisclosed income will not be subject to any scrutiny if done within this window. This is an attempt to garner additional revenues and solve the challenges of black money.

Your Loans

1. Additional deduction of Rs. 50,000- For first time home buyers an additional deduction of Rs.50,000 on top of already existing Rs. 2 lakh has been proposed for loans upto Rs. 35 lakh sanctioned during the next financial year subject to the value of property not exceeding Rs. 50 lakh.

All in all, it’s a budget that will probably not change your money life significantly – but it has a little here and a little there. “Fortunately, there is a sane equilibrium in the character of nations. As there is in that of men.”

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Budget 2012 – What’s in it for you!

Whilst the expectations from the budget were low, many of us were hoping that the budget would try to push the envelope since it was the last real opportunity for the UPA government to push through reforms. However, it seems like the government did not try to do anything dramatic, lest Mamta insists that the Finance Minister should resign, along with the rail minister.  So we will celebrate Sachin’s 100^th 100 today instead of the budget.

The early assessment of the budget and what’s in it for you:

Your Income

• Gender equality is one step closer in India, at least as far as tax laws are concerned. The minimum  tax exempt income slab is now Rs. 2 lakhs for both men and women.
• The Direct Tax Code (DTC) has been deferred. There has been a marginal tinkering with the tax slabs, with income upto Rs. 2 lakhs  being exempt. For the Rs. 2 – 5 lakhs slab, tax rate is 10%, and 20% for the next slab of Rs. 5 – 10 lakhs. The highest tax slab now starting at an income above Rs. 10 lakhs is to be taxed at 30%. Whilst this is clearly not a significant rationalization in the taxation rates on personal taxes,  it aligns it with the proposed DTC so we are hopefully a step closer to the DTC.
• For anyone in the highest tax bracket (earning above Rs 10 lakhs), expect a saving of Rs. 22600.  It is important to ensure that you put this saving to good use i.e. to your highest priority financial goal.
• Exemption of an amount of Rs. 10000 for interest earned on savings accounts. In addition to some marginal savings, the biggest advantage is probably the administrative ease that comes with knowing that if you manage your savings account without excessive balances, you are saved from running around to collect your interest certificates for savings accounts at the end of the year from multiple banks.

Your Expenses

• If you have a marriage coming up soon, be ready to pay more for gold and silver. Customs duties on gold and silver have both been hiked.
• Cars will become more expensive with an excise duty hike, and yes, it does not matter whether the car runs on diesel or petrol, for now.
•  Expect prices of consumer durables to go up – TV, Acs, refrigerators, washing machines and microwave ovens could be 2-4% more expensive.
• Expect to pay more for most services for e.g. telephones, as service tax has been raised from 10% to 12% and most services except 17 are now covered under the ambit of service tax.
• You  can expect a deduction of Rs. 5000 for a preventive health checkup
• Expect inflation to creep up once again as the government continues its borrowing program unabated – plans to raise a gross borrowing of Rs 5.7 lakh crores this year. Interest rates may therefore not come down as quickly as a lot of people expected.

Your Assets and Liabilities

Equity Assets

•  Another new program named after Rajiv Gandhi ( no one wonders why?) allows retail investors with income upto Rs. 10 lakhs to get a 50% tax deduction on investments in equities upto Rs. 50000, with a 3 year lock in. This should help in increasing retail participation in equity markets to a certain extent.
•  While equity markets may be driven in the short term by reactions to the budget , we believe that the markets  will ultimately be driven by global oil prices and liquidity flows from overseas. The markets are already pricing in a large portion of concerns like input cost inflation and higher interest rates. Since valuations are currently still attractive, look at enhancing equity exposures on declines vis a vis your overall asset allocation strategy. Expect returns to be in line with long term corporate earnings growth of 15-20% per annum over the next 3 years.  A key factor to watch out for will be tensions in the Middle East, which can take oil prices higher.
•  The Securities Transaction Tax (STT) has got lowered by 20% which may be marginally beneficial for investors.

Fixed Income Assets

•  The expected government borrowing numbers and slippages on the fiscal deficit front are negative for long term yields and bonds. We therefore believe it is prudent to remain at the shorter end of the yield curve i.e. in the 1-3 year product , with a 6 to 9 month view.  The use of short term bonds funds and Fixed Maturity Plans ( FMPs) is recommended.
•  Enhancements in tax free bond limits like NHAI, HUDCO, IRFC will probably result in more issuances in this space, which should be good for investors in the highest tax bracket.
•  With Qualified FIIs allowed to access corporate bond markets, that should result in increased liquidity in corporate bond markets over a period of time.
•  You could expect to pay more for insurance policies as well due to service tax increases.

Real Estate Assets

•  Tax deduction at source has been introduced on sale of real estate ( except agricultural land) at the rate of 1% with effect from Oct 1, 2012. This applies to all transactions above Rs. 50 lakhs in specified urban areas and Rs. 20 lakhs in other areas. Since property registration will not be permitted without proof of deduction and payment of this TDS, it could increase paperwork.

Loans and Liabilities

•  With interest rates likely to come down slowly due to inflationary concerns and high government borrowing, prepaying your loans may continue to be an important component of managing your finances. Of course, if you have a cheap fixed rate loan, you can let it be as is.

Author – Vishal Dhawan, CFP ^CM

Disclaimer : This document and the information contained therein is strictly confidential and meant strictly for the selected recipient and may not be copied or modified or transmitted without the consent of Plan Ahead Wealth Advisors Pvt. Ltd. This report is only for information purposes only and nothing should be construed to be of any investment advice.

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