For instance, if you’re a salaried employee who earns Rs 6 lakh a year, you’ll have to pay about Rs 70,000 a year in taxes. However, a departmental store owner, with an annual turnover of Rs 1 crore and profits of about Rs 15 lakh, can get away without paying taxes. Legally!
That’s because there are many porous tax provisions that allow the fat cats to slip through. Are there any such devices that the rich employ to lower their taxes, which you can do too?
Perhaps the only way for the salaried emplo-yee to lower his tax liability is to turn consultant. A consultant who earns the same Rs 6 lakh a year can walk away without paying a paisa in taxes—and, in fact, claim a refund of the tax deducted at source (at 5.25 per cent). That’s because he is allowed to claim tax write-offs on a variety of deductible expenses. A tax strategy that perhaps constitutes the last line of defence for the cornered salaried taxpayer.
World In Your Pocket
Discounts on food, shopping, air, road and rail fares, accommodation, museum and gallery tickets across 93 countries, for just Rs 200? The International Student Identity Card (ISIC) gets you exactly that.
All you have to do is give proof that you’re a full-time student. If you aren’t a full-time student, but 25 years or younger, you’re eligible for an International Youth Travel Card (IYTC). Full-time teachers can get the International Teacher Identity Card (ITIC).
You can apply for an ISIC, IYTC or ITIC at any of the 33 Student Travel Information Centre (STIC) offices across the country or submit your applications at www.isicweb.net.
Basement Rates
Falling interest rates and lenders switching to monthly rests to calculate EMIs make for the cheapest housing loans ever. These are the cheapest lenders, based on effective rates on 15-year loans with monthly rests.
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