Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Budget 2011: No major tax proposal for banking industry

Though in terms of fiscal measures there is no significant proposal in the Finance Bill that could impact the tax regime for the banking industry, on policy front the changes to Banking regulations through a new Amendment Bill to be moved by the Finance Minister should bring about some of the key changes proposed by the Reserve Bank of India and the ones the industry has been waiting for, including the ones relating to restrictions on voting rights and ceiling in foreign investment in private sector banks.

There was an expectation of the Banking Industry from the Finance Minister that an express exemption from taxes should have been provided on conversion of a foreign bank branch in India to a wholly owned subsidiary, which has not been discussed by the Finance Minister in Budget 2011. These changes along with the other legislative changes referred to by the Finance Minister in his speech should provide the required impetus to the financial markets in general.

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