The Government’s annual budget is always a much awaited report for the common man, the entrepreneurs andthe politicians alike. Household budget, industrial productivity, business, even the future of the political parties are affected by the budget. For us, the common citizens, the budget mostly means therise or fall of prices of goods & services and the tax rise or benefits. The purpose of this annual budget is much broader.
The budget deals with Public Finance. It is part of the Government’s Fiscal Policy. Fiscal meaning-dealing with public treasury. The broad objectives of Fiscal Policy are-
o Rapid economic growth
o Reducing economic...
In simple terms inflation or price rise is caused by too much money chasing too few goods, or , demand being more than supply. The free play of the twin market forces of demand and supply determine the price of any commodity or service. In a mixed economy...
SEBI – Insights and Functionalities
On 02 February 2010 by Siddharth Singh -
One Comment -
The Background
Securities and Exchange Board of India, popularly called SEBI, is a quasi government body that was initially formed in 1988 by an administrative order. The Indian capital market had started developing very fast during the 1980s. The...
Income Tax on Capital Gains
On 26 January 2010 by Siddharth Singh -
4 Comments -
The Income Tax Act specifies that gains/profits that result from the transfer of capital assets are liable to be taxed as income. To understand the concept of tax on capital gains, it would be better to look at the very definition of capital gains...
Gold vs Mutual Funds – Investment Options
On 25 January 2010 by Siddharth Singh -
-
Gold vs mutual funds as investment options – it is a debate that is slowly gaining denomination. While gold represents the ‘old school’ of investment thoughts, mutual funds find favor with the modern generation. However, with the stock...
Investment Myths Debunked- Top 5 Investor Fallacies
On 20 January 2010 by Siddharth Singh -
One Comment -
Personal finances and investments, like any other field of human activity, are also marred by a number of myths. Though the situation is gradually changing with greater investor education and better availability of information and resources, many...
Income Tax Allowances for Salaried Employees
On 17 January 2010 by iBlogger -
-
Allowance is defined as a fixed quantity of money or other substance given regularly in addition to salary for meeting specific requirements of the employees. As a general rule, all allowances are to be included in the total taxable income unless specifically...
Do Home Loans save Income Tax??
On 06 January 2010 by Debomita Gupta -
3 Comments -
Now it is almost the end of Financial year 2009-10 and we are loaded with the tension of investments and tax saving.
Have we invested enough to save tax?? Where to invest to save more tax?? How much to invest?? Is the investment in this particular instrument...
10 Resolutions for 2010 – How I Plan to Put My Personal Finances in Order
On 02 January 2010 by Siddharth Singh -
One Comment -
Well, it’s that time of the year again! When you start things with a clean slate, and resolve to make a new beginning. A lot of us make resolutions for the upcoming year. Most of them are forgotten in the first week, and by the time January is...
Income Tax Calculation for FY 2009-10
On 01 January 2010 by Debomita Gupta -
One Comment -
Income Tax Calculation
To calculate the tax to paid for a Financial year, the steps included are :
1) Add all the incomes from different sources to find the Total income.
2) Subtract the annual professional tax from the total income to get...
Income Tax filing – Quick overview of deductions
On 31 December 2009 by Debomita Gupta -
One Comment -
Under Income tax Act, the total income of any individual Indian resident is subject to tax. To calculate the taxable income,the steps are as follows :
1) Determine the Total Income by adding all the sources of income.
2) Determine the Total Deductions...
India income tax slabs – explained
On 27 December 2009 by Debomita Gupta -
One Comment -
As the financial year 2009-10 is approaching its end, we are loaded with the pressure of investments and reduce the Income tax liability. Income tax in India comprises of all income other than agricultural income.
According to Income Tax Act of 1961,...
7 Qualities of Successful Investors
On 22 October 2009 by Siddharth Singh -
4 Comments -
What are the qualities that distinguish a successful investor from a not-so-successful investor? Is it education? Do you really need to be a high-flying graduate from the ivy-league management colleges to become a successful investor? Well, in that...
7 Successful Tips for Painless Saving
On 17 October 2009 by Siddharth Singh -
-
Saving does not come easily for most of us, and for few people, it is a positive pain (yes, that includes me, too!). However, as I pointed out in my previous articles, saving is an absolute necessity, if you want to start investments, and move ahead...
Saving vs Investment: Points of Difference
On 30 September 2009 by Siddharth Singh -
-
Now that we have understood the concepts behind the processes of savings and investments, it would be pertinent to discuss the major points of difference between the two. As we discussed in my previous article, investment and saving often used as synonyms,...
Savings and Investment: What is the Difference?
On 30 September 2009 by Siddharth Singh -
-
Most of us use the words ’saving’ and ‘investment’ as synonyms. Yet there is a substantial difference between the two. On the other hand, there are indeed a number of similarities too. I hope I have not managed to confuse you...
Top 9 Mistakes that Investors Make
On 22 September 2009 by Siddharth Singh -
3 Comments -
In my previous article, I had pointed out the steps in successful investing. After reading that article, you may think that successful investing is really common sense. Well, you would be perfectly right in thinking that!
But then, wouldn’t more...
Stock splits and more
On 21 September 2009 by iBlogger -
One Comment -
In one of my previous posts (QIP), we had seen the fundamentals of capital structure of a company. Companies need capital to run their businesses and there are essentially two ways of getting the cash – Debt and Equity. At any point of time, a...
Successful Investing in Seven Steps
On 18 September 2009 by Siddharth Singh -
4 Comments -
What does it take to invest successfully? Most people have this wrong notion that successful investing requires a college degree in high finance or loads of experience in the stock markets. Worse still, many of us assume that it requires timing the...
Fundamentals of valuation of financial assets
On 29 August 2009 by iBlogger -
-
During my under-graduation, One of my professors once held a plastic cup in his hand and asked all of us “What do you think is the value of this cup?”
After hearing most of our valuation estimates which ranged between Rs. 5 and Rs. 50, he...