A Comment on ways to save tax on House Rent Allowance

My comment on an article "Looking to save Tax on House Rent Allowance? Here is all you need to know" published in the economictimes.com Dated 28/01/2017.


"This article is very useful to gain knowledge regarding making use of maximum HRA deductible while computing your income tax calculations. 

Deduction admissible for HRA benefit is that whichever is the minimum of the following three amounts:
1) Actual HRA received as part of his salary
2) 50% of salary for metro city employee and 40% of salary for employees at other places
3) The excess of Actual Rent paid by employee above 10% of his salary amount supported by rent receipt or agreement.

The salaried employee should take care that HRA received by him never falls short of his claimable amount as this can be a drawback for him if he receives say Rs 1500 as HRA in a salary of Rs 10,000 and if pays rent of Rs 2500 or more. In this case, his 10% salary will be 1000 and difference amount of rent excess paid by him would be Rs 1500 or more. But, as he is receiving only 1500 as HRA, he can claim only 1500 for deduction allowable.

So, always keep a watch on your HRA element in your salary."

A Comment on using Aadhaar Pay app through biometrics

My Comment on a news item "Government to launch Aadhaar Pay soon" as per ZeeTV and ETV news channels reports reported through a video at the economictimes.com Dated 28/01/2017.

"But how can they verify by simply relying on a mere thumb impression?

Some people, like me, do not produce any clear imprint of the lines of their thumb or any other finger as they have wiped off or got destroyed due to excessive use or tear.

There should be some other alternative option for such people to verify their identity."

A Comment about criticism of Modi's demonetization step

My Comment on an article "Where are the fake notes? Even RBI doesn't know" published in the economictimes.com Dated 25/01/2017.


"I don't understand why people argue like this and criticize any good moves taken. What is the use of unnecessary criticism? Modi government might have used some excuse (which they probably suspected, if not cent percent accurate). It could be one of the many other probable causes for demonetization.

You should at least realize some benefit from the action of demonetization step taken by our PM. Search for the plus points of it and not for the minus points.

But, I am worried now that they are easing the position by releasing more money into the market. It is not good for any economy to circulate more money in hard cash.

We should switch over to a cashless society for our own benefits. At least you will think twice before anything using your card or e-wallet and thereby contribute to the growth." 

A Comment on banning of Jallikattu sports and practices

My Comment on an article "Jallikattu: Protests intensify as Modi dashes hopes of an ordinance" published in the economictimes.com Dated 19/01/2017.


"This is a matter of cultural and traditional practices and beliefs of the people. So, courts may not involve in such matters unless sued by a party for any loss or damage incurred by him or anybody.

If somebody appeals to court with some real problem of concern or loss suffered, then only the courts should involve in it. Even in such cases, they should assess the loss and impose fines or punishment to the violators. The entire practice should not be banned. They can set some guidelines to protect the concerned victims.

Otherwise, public and NGO organizations should discuss such things between themselves and arrive at some reasonable solution."

A Comment on need to minimize the cash transactions

My Comment on an article "Government may lower limit for quoting PAN number for cash transactions" published in the economictimes.com Dated 19/01/2017.


"My suggestion to PM would be to minimize the cash transaction limit to Rs.20,000 for individuals and Rs.50,000 for businesses. Above those limits should be discouraged by imposing heavy transaction charges, that too in different layers of ascending order. 

If we want a cashless society we should do it more strictly without any leniency.

People should cooperate by switching to modern techniques of making payments even for a small value of articles." 

A Comment on increase in limits of cash draws by RBI

My Comment on an article "RBI raises ATM withdrawal limit to Rs.10,000 per day from current Rs.4,500" published in the economictimes.com Dated 17/01/2017.

"I think Rs.10,000 is enough for total cash transactions in a month. 

If you are allowing Rs.24,000 per week it is weird. It could be Rs.24,000 per a whole month at the best. 

We want digitalization and then allowing excessive cash outflow is not a good step. Our government or RBI shouldn't increase any more extra limits for cash draws either from ATM or from the banks for normal transactions. 

Only small traders can be allowed to draw more cash to disburse wages. Not otherwise." 

Read more at this article on Economictimes.com

A Comment on keeping knowledge of deductions allowable under I.Tax Act and invest with prudence

My Comment on an article "5 things one must consider before making a fresh Section-80C investment for FY 2016-17" published in the economictimes.com Dated 07/01/2017.


The author of this article pointed to the various options available with a detailed analysis to obtain the most possible benefit from investments and also to get the exemption to the utmost limits for the current Financial Year ending on 31st March 2017.

The most important among these points is that you should know up to how much deductions you are entitled to:

Under Section 80C, the maximum deduction available is Rs.1.50 lakh.

Section 80CCD allows you a further deduction of Rs.0.50 lakh on investments made in National Pension Scheme.

Section 80D provides you a deduction of up to Rs.25,000 on premiums paid under Health Insurance Plans. If it is a senior citizen, then deduction allowed is up to Rs.30,000.

Further, there is an additional deduction available under Section 24 for interest payments on home loans. The maximum interest deduction allowable under this section is Rs.2.00 lakh.

So, you are able to see that one can get maximum benefit by availing all these options if he can invest prudently.

A Comment on the relationship between car ownership and income-tax liability

My Comment on an article "24 lakh people have income above Rs.10 lakh but 25 lakh cars bought every year" published in the economictimes.com Dated 31/12/2016.


"Figures can't be linked like these. Car purchases and eligibility for the tax are two different things. One should have the full details to check the actual position. 

The author is taking the tax -payers' statistics of A.Y. 2014-15 and trying to explain the figures. We should take recent figures for the actual position.

Moreover, if one owns a car, he need not be treated as falling in the income tax eligibility range. Many models are available cheaply and anyone can purchase a car nowadays earning minimum income. Even if you have a salary of Rs.25,000 pm, you don't fall in the taxable range. You can easily purchase a car paying very low EMIs affordable within your income."