Expert Zone
Straight from the Specialists
Tax issues for individuals travelling abroad
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
Taxability in India is based on an individual’s residential status. As per the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961, an individual may be an Ordinary Resident (OR), Non Resident (NR) or Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR) based on the number of days of physical presence in India.
The residency rule is liberal for Indian citizens leaving India for taking up employment outside the country and is triggered only if the individual spends more than 182 days in India in the year of departure. However, in the year of return, the 60 days rule shall be applied for determining residential status.
A NR and NOR is taxable only on India-sourced income or income received in India. However, an OR is taxable on worldwide income in India. So, if an individual leaves India for the purpose of taking up employment abroad but still continues to be an OR in a particular year, he shall be taxable on income earned in India and outside the country, irrespective of where he renders his services or receives salary.
Forget 2011, and gear up for a challenging 2012
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
Everything that could have gone wrong, did, and our policy makers literally snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. This is something that summarises the Indian economy and the stock markets for the whole of 2011.
Food grains for food security
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
There was a good deal of hesitation on the part of government to introduce the Food Security Bill even after it was recommended by the NAC. The bill, which is now before the parliament, would be adopted with every political party wanting to earn some leverage at the polls at the cost of the exchequer.
The world’s greatest logo
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
Whenever I’m interviewed about branding I almost always get asked: “What is the world’s greatest logo?” By which I suppose the interviewer means, what is the world’s most recognised brand?
India Markets Weekahead: Time to build a long-term portfolio
After a huge selloff last week, markets took a breather during the week gone by and managed some gains as investors resorted to bargain hunting along with short covering by bears. Easing of food inflation to 1.81 percent aided sentiments.
Moody’s upgrade of the government’s rupee-denominated debt ratings from Ba1 to Baa3 was another key event during the week. But I wonder how an upgrade can happen at a time when all levers of the economy are witnessing a deceleration? The fiscal deficit is in dire straits, with industrial production falling and a weakening of rupee should have been a case of concern. The only silver lining is the inflation which has improved more due to the base effect and that was expected. Technically, no government can default on its local currency as it can print more notes to repay lenders and thus the rupee-denominated ratings should have been higher than foreign currency ratings. Thus Moody’s seem to be correcting this abnormality. Hence, the realignment of ratings is not really a cause for celebration.
Season to be jolly? With 2012 outlook, unlikely
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
It is the season to be jolly and it is also the season for ‘outlook’ views on what the New Year will bring, and that is unlikely to make anyone jolly. There are many possible binary outcomes in 2012 that could move markets and commodities erratically, so the only certainty appears to be ongoing volatile price swings.
Why no McDosa?
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
The whole world now knows that India has arrived. It isn’t just Infosys and TCS. Tata is the largest manufacturer in Britain with Jaguar Land Rover and Corus — not to speak of Tetley. Bajaj exports a significant proportion of its motorcycle output to Africa — and so on. Indian companies are finally starting to make a significant impact on the global scene.
Stock market under stress
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
The first big jolt to the market after the 2008 crisis had come last August when FIIs disinvested 95 billion rupees worth of equity and moved into liquid assets. That brought the Sensex down by 1500 points and pulled the dollar up by 4 rupees.
India Market Weekahead: Testing times but patience to be rewarded
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
Key indices witnessed a deep cut this week with the Nifty falling below the psychologically important support level of 4700 for the first time since November 2009. Experts have begun predicting a crash and rightly so, as all the levers of the economy have gone for a toss with pessimistic news flows. So the moot question is whether the market has discounted all the negatives? If yes, then why are Indian markets underperforming global counterparts week after week?
Dollar shock for Indian hedge funds
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
2011 has been an annus horribilis for Indian hedge funds. All hedge funds, with one exception, are currently in the red — the Eurekahedge Indian Hedge Fund Index was down 16.9 pct as of end-October and early reports suggest that things went from bad to worse in November.
