Starting today, new rules of saving, spending and investing kick in

NEW DELHI: Tax measures announced in the interim Budget — rebate for those earning up to Rs 5 lakh a year, higher standard deduction, changes in notional rent and capital gains for a second house and interest income etc — come into effect from Monday. The new GST structure for the real estate sector announced last month will also be applicable starting today.



Tax department to snoop on social networking sites

The taxman will track you even more closely now than in the past. The Income Tax department has given taxmen access of the Project Insight (a tax tracker based on big data built at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore) portal that has much more information about you than ever.



Pay more to buy cars

Car prices will go up marginally. Major automakers (like Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors and Toyota) had announced price hikes effective from today due to 'rising input costs'. However, in a slow market, car makers continue to offer discounts, which means the hikes won't pinch you much.



Shell out more for air tickets

Flying will be costlier if pilots of struggling private carrier Jet Airways go on strike. They, along with engineers and senior staff, have not been paid for almost four months and want their dues cleared and a roadmap on future payment. The airline has said it can at best pay one month's salary. Starting today, Air India will only serve Indian food to cut costs.

Sebi's rule on share transfer

Transfer of shares of listed companies can now be done only in the dematerialised (demat) form though you can continue to hold shares in the physical form as mandated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).