Updated Jan 18, 2021 | 17:19 IST
Hotels and restaurants are struggling to stay afloat due to the impact of the pandemic. We take a look at what support the industry is looking for from the government. Representational Image
Over four crore people in the hospitality industry have lost jobs due to the pandemic
Restaurants have lost out on 65% of revenues as people are still wary of eating out
The pandemic has been harsh on the economy as a whole, but one sector that has suffered the most due to the nature of its business is the hospitality industry. The concept of eating out has changed drastically thanks to Covid-19. Restaurants are struggling to stay afloat with the 50 per cent occupancy restrictions, and smaller budget hotels are suffering the most. So what does the industry expect from the budget this year and how are restaurants holding up?
WHAT IS MINIMUM ALTERNATE TAX (MAT) Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) Companies can reduce their tax liability through various provisions of the Income-Tax Act, such as exemptions, deductions, depreciation, etc. There have been instances of some companies even managing to show nil taxable income despite making substantial profits and paying out dividends, thanks to the various tax concessions and incentives. The tax provision known as Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) was created to bring these ‘zero-tax paying companies’ within the ambit of income tax and make them pay a minimum amount in tax to the government. To improve accountability, and to ensure that no company avoided paying taxes, the Government of India in 1988 came up with the concept of MAT, which facilitates the taxation of zero-tax companies. Introduced by the Finance Act, 1987, MAT came into effect from assessment year 1988-89. According to MAT, such companies are liable to pay to the
NASSCOM recommended extending concessional corporate tax rate to all new IT-BPM units incorporated in SEZs that commence operations within a set period and commit to create certain number of jobs
‘Solar sector needs a comprehensive policy’
January 11, 2021
Saibaba Vutukuri, CEO, Vikram Solar×
Vikram Solar CEO highlights issues for attention in Budget
The Government needs to come out with a comprehensive policy framework along with some tariff barriers to achieve the 450 GW renewable energy target, according to Saibaba Vutukuri, CEO of Vikram Solar.
“The Government should consider implementing tariff barriers such as BCD/Safeguard Duty/ADD for at least 4-5 years. Offering capital subsidy of 50 per cent for setting up R&D and quality testing infrastructure within the manufacturing units will help build scale,” he said.
“As we inch towards the Union Budget, we are hopeful of targeted initiatives and policies for scaling up domestic solar manufacturing aligned to the 450 GW renewables by 2030 target. There is an immediate need to build a robust ecosystem for indigenous solar manufacturing and making it cost-competitive to achieve the Government’s vision of Atm