Highlights of Union Budget 2012-13 (Part-IV)

New Delhi, Mar 16 (ANI): Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday presented the Union Budget 2012-13 in Lok Sabha.

The highlights of the Budget are as follows:

Negative list to include pre-school and high school education, entertainment services.ale of residential property exempted from capital gains if invested in equity or equipment of an SME.

All services to be taxed except those in negative list

Interest income from banks tax-free upto Rs 10,000.

No advanced tax requirement for senior citizens.

Remove cascading effect of dividend distribution tax

Withholding tax on external commercial borrowings reduced from 20 percent to five percent for power, airlines, roads, bridges, affordable houses and fertiliser sectors.

Propose common tax code for service tax and excise

Government services, public transport exempted from service tax

Common 1-page return for excise and service tax

Rs 18,660 crore additional revenue expected from service tax hike

No change in peak custom duty

Withholding tax on power, airlines, road and brides, ports and shipyard, fertilisers, dams and affordable houses lowered to five percent from 20 percent for 3 years.

Service tax rates hiked from 10 per cent to 12 percentntroduction of compulsory reporting of assets held abroad

Large cars duty raised from 22 percent to 27 percent

Securities Transaction Tax (STT) reduced from 0.125 percent to 0.1 percent.

Most luxury items, eating out, air travel, leisure activities to cost more

Exemption of customs duty of five percent on equipment for fertiliser plants

Excise duty on large cars raised from 22 percent to 24 percent

Service tax to yield additional revenue of Rs 18,650 crore. (ANI)