Persistence
June 26, 2012 2 Comments
The Indian – American Story
June 26, 2012 Leave a comment
Here are some facts about the Indian – Americans:
1.)The first major influx of Indian immigrants arrived in the US in the early 1900s to work as farmhands.After initially being considered Caucasian and allowed to become citizens,Indian-Americans were later barred from becoming citizens for many years,until passage of a 1952 law that lifted prior restrictions.
2.)Today there are about 32 lakh Indian-Americans.They are the third largest Asian group in the US.And their number is fast growing due to migration.
3.)87% of Indian – Americans are born outside the US.
4.)73% of Indian immigrants speak English very well. Read more of this post
PAN Cards And FDs
June 25, 2012 2 Comments
Under section 139A of the I-T Act,only persons whose income is chargeable to tax are required to obtain a PAN.However section 206 AA of the same Act, which became effective from assessment year 2010-11, makes it mandatory for every person to furnish PAN card in their transactions with banks and financial institutions.So section 206AA compeled even those without a taxable income to obtain a PAN, failing which tax would be deducted at source.
A writ petition was filed before the Karnataka High Court by A Kowsalya and two other small investors, who had made investments in financial institutions (F Is). They do not have any income other than the income received from F I s and they have declared this under Form 15G. Form 15G is usually used for declaring that a person’s income is below taxable limit, and therefore, the bank or FI is not required to deduct tax at source while making payments.The FIs, however, told the petitioners that tax would be deducted at source if they did not furnish PAN cards as required under section 206AA of the Income-Tax Act. The petitioners challenged the validity of Section 206AA of the Income-tax Act in their writ petition. Read more of this post
Global Recession
June 25, 2012 4 Comments
For over a decade now I have enjoyed reading Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar’s Sunday TOI editorial column Swaminomics.I like his insight and willingness to call a spade a spade.Read and enjoy his article below.
Bad news: World is sliding into a new recession
24 JUN, 2012,SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR,TNN
Many rich countries have struggled for three years to emerge fully from the Great Recession of 2008-09 . Alas, the world is slipping into a new recession. No global authority has dared say so, but the writing is on the wall.
A classic lead indicator of a global recession is a crash in commodity prices, which is evident today.
Brent crude, the benchmark variety that determines Gulf oil prices for India, has fallen from $125/barrel in January to barely $ 90/barrel. Major global commodity indices have slumped over 20%. Mittal and Tata are closing some global steel plants because of falling demand. Prices of non-ferrous metals, cotton, coal and iron ore have crashed. Read more of this post
Don’t Get Too Used To Your Money
June 25, 2012 5 Comments
The article below is from Saturday’s ET.I was struck by the advice not to get too used to money and that sometimes you will regret saving it.
I also enjoyed reading all the highlighted tidbits on the economic scenario in Europe.
I was also reminded of my history lessons from my school days;of how a sense of economic injustice in Germany led to 2 World Wars. Read more of this post
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