Você está na página 1de 1

04 KALEIDOSCOPE ERGO Monday, March 2, 2009

Ask your query


Is it beneficial to buy the new housing loans, which says that the interest rate
will be fixed at 8 per cent for one year? Since this is lower than what other
banks are offering my friend suggested that it’s a good deal.
Ravi Kumar, Cisco
From a broad perspective the idea of paying a lower interest rate seems to
be a profitable one for the borrower. But when we look deeply into it we need
to realise that no bank will give you a loan on loss. What it means is that any
loan has to be lent at a rate higher than the rate at which banks borrow
money. Thus what will happen is that they will try to recover the lost amount
by adjusting for it in the balance years of the tenure. Also there will be a lot of
“small text” which could have other clauses like no change in interest rate
even if the rates go below the 8 per cent level and such which need to be
prudently checked before taking the loan.
Mail your queries to finergo@goergo.in, with subject line ‘Doctor’.

Mini Quiz
1. ETF stands for:
a) Exchange Traded Funds It’s good bye to all the paper work required to claim your travel allowance.
b) Electronic Transfer of Funds PHOTO : NISSAR AHMED
c) Exchange and Trade Finance
d) Equity Traded Fund

No bills required for LTA


2. PFRDA stands for:
a) Pensioners Fund for Research in Debts and Assets
b) Provident Fund Regulatory Development Authority
c) Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority
d) Prudential Franklin Reliance Deutsche Association
Send your answers to finergo@goergo.in or SMS your answers to 92813 98889.
Example: If you choose ‘a’ as the answer to question 1 and ‘b’ as the answer to
question 2, type 1A2B. Winner get a free book on mutual fund and will be chosen
The SC’s rule comes as a sign of relief for all
Answers for last week’s quiz:
by lucky draw from all correct answers. those who are used to producing fake bills
SEBI – Securities and Exchange Board of India
NBFC – Non Banking Finance Company
or spending money to get them
SNEHA BAJAJ ticket, taxi voucher, etc.). This also
sneha@finerva.com meant that if the bills were not pro-
duced, the employee would have to pay
a tax and if he produced bills worth just
News you can use
A
recent verdict of the Supreme a certain amount, then he would be ex-
Court could bring a sigh of relief empted from tax only for that amount
to employed individuals all over regardless of the total LTA amount for
New pension scheme the country, especially those in which he/she is eligible. This meant
The Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority has announced its the taxable brackets. that your hard earned money went to
intention to appoint fund managers for the new pension scheme. It has been The SC has said that employees need the tax man because you did not have
reported that there are six fund managers who have been short-listed. These not show bills or vouchers to claim their the time to spend on maintaining those
fund managers will be responsible for handling the funds invested in the LTA while filing their tax details with travel papers. The court said: “The ben-
pension funds of the NPS, which is for the unorganised sector. their company. This in one shot takes eficiary of exemption under Section 10
away the entire headache associated (5) (of the Income Tax Act) is an indi-
NHAI bonds with maintaining those small tickets vidual employee. There is no circular of
The National Highways authority of India is offering non-convertible bonds and related bills to show proof of your Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
that will give benefits for individuals who want to park their long-term capital travel. requiring the employer under Section
gains. Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) is the 192 to collect and examine the support-
The bonds will give the investor a return of 6.25 per cent per annum and reimbursement paid by the employer to ing evidence to the declaration to be
will be fully taxable. NHAI will repay the entire investment amount at the end the employee, for any travel expenses submitted by an employee(s).” In sim-
of three years. If you are an investor who will be receiving any capital gains within India, but for this two conditions ple terms, why should the company
from sale of land/house or other means then you need to pay a minimum need to be satisfied. (a) The expenses spend its resources/money on verifying
LTCG tax of 10 per cent, but if you invest it in the bonds you will not be taxed. can be claimed only for travelling with- the veracity of something which is a di-
in the country; (b) The expenses can be rect benefit to its employees? This has
RBI puts the safety net claimed only if the employee travels indirectly also benefited the employees.
The Reserve Bank of India has said that keeping in view the growing num- with the family and not if the family The bottom-line for both the orga-
ber of credit cards and debit cards and also the high levels of usage of the travels alone and (c) This allowance is nisation as well as the employees is
Internet for financial transactions, it’s imperative to have stronger safety paid to the employee every year but can drastic reduction in paper work related
norms. be claimed only for two travel journeys to claiming the LTA. Probably hence-
The newly devised safety measures would ensure higher safety for online every year. forth, your company would directly
transactions and also ensure that online alerts be sent to card holders when In the recent past, to claim the ex- credit it to your account at the end of
card is used. penses, it was necessary that the em- the year rather than waiting for you to
ployee shows his bills (hotel, train send in the claims. ■

Você também pode gostar