MONTH THAT WAS
Old age pensions for informal sector workers
New Delhi: The Government decided to launch an ambitious old age Social Security Scheme involving an annual pension assistance of `1,000 each to four million workers in the unorganised sector for next four years, beginning this fiscal. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Rechristened Swavalamban Scheme, the New Pension System (NPS) is the first major national scheme, aimed at providing old-age security to all sections of the society, especially the vulnerable sections, said an official statement. To finance the scheme, the Government has approved an allocation of `1,000 crore over a period of four years as co-contribution to subscribers of the New Pension System, said the statement.
Maharashtra to have green vehicle tax
Mumbai: The Maharashtra cabinet approved levying a ‘green tax’ on commercial vehicles that are more than seven years old and on noncommercial or private vehicles that are 15 year old.
The move is aimed at discouraging use of older vehicles and reduce pollution, an official said after the meeting. As vehicles age, their engines become inefficient and pump out more emission that is environmentally harmful, he said.
A tax bill would be introduced in the next session of legislature, the official said. There are over a crore registered vehicles in the state, of which 80 per cent are two-wheelers, he said.
A tax bill would be introduced in the next session of legislature, the official said. There are over a crore registered vehicles in the state, of which 80 per cent are two-wheelers, he said.
The tax will be similar to the green tax levied on vehicles by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh in 2002, Karnataka introduced the tax by amending the Karnataka Motor Vehicles taxation Act, 1957.
In 2008, Himachal Pradesh had also imposed a green tax on vehicles users in an effort to generate a fund to combat climate change.
IUML to step drive against extremist outfits
Thiruvananthapuram: Mainstream Muslim political parties and organisations in Kerala have joined hands against extremism that has brought a bad name to the entire community in the state.
They will be turning the heat on the radical outfit, Popular Font of India (PFI), and the Jamaat-e-Isalmi (JI), under fire for a series of extremist activities rocking the state.
A meeting, convened by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) at Kottakkal in Malappuram decided to launch a joint campaign against the extremist line propounded by the two organizations.
“Through their dark deeds, these organizations have put the Muslim community in a situation for all and sundry to ride roughshod over the Muslims”, said IUML general secretary P K Kunahlikutty after the meeting. He said that the recent incidents of extremism were the handiwork of a “microscopic minority”, but the entire community was facing the brunt. They have been indulging in extremist activities by misusing religion and it was time to isolate them”, he added. The campaign would use social, political and religious fora, to fight the two outfits. The meeting also condemned the barbarous attack on Newman college lecturer T J Joseph for framing a provocative question.
Nigerians rounded up in Mira Road - Mumbai
A joint operation by Orissa police along with their local counterparts has exposed chinks in the mandatory tenant verification drive of the Thane (rural) police.
26 African nationals were detained in raids carried out at Indralok and RNP Park areas, police said. Following tip-off that a gang of African nationals involved in a criminal offence in their jurisdiction, were holed up in the Mira Road area, a police team from Orissa, assisted by local cops carried out raids and detained the suspected illegal immigrants. While 22 of the 26 foreign nationals produced their documents including passports and visas, 3 had already been charged for illegal stay, while one of them failed to produce any documents.
India/Mauritius review – DTAA
New Delhi: India said it is reviewing the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius to prevent tax evasion and strengthen exchange of information on the matter between the two countries.
“Government has proposed to review the India Mauritius DTAA to incorporate appropriate changes in the DTAC for prevention of treaty shopping and to strengthen the mechanism for exchange of information on tax matters between India and Mauritius,” Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. He said Mauritius based companies are subjected to minimal or nil taxes in that country as capital gains is fully exempt from taxation there.
“India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) provides for taxation of capital gains arising from alienation of shares only in the country of residence of the investor,” Palanimanickam added.
Thus, an investor routing his investments through Mauritius into India does not pay capital gains tax either in India or in Mauritius.
Mauritius has become an attractive route for investment into India more as treaty shopping, through which the resident of a third country takes advantage of the provision of the DTAA between the two countries to reduce tax liability.
India signed a Convention in 1982 with Mauritius for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion and to encourage mutual trade and investment.
Royal Bank of Scotland fined £ 5.6mn
LONDON: UK financial regulator FSA said it has fined the Royal Bank of Scotland Group 5.6 million pounds for its failure to put in place adequate systems and controls to prevent breaches of financial sanctions imposed by the government against certain entities and countries.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) stated that certain members of the RBS Group—RBS Plc, NatWest, Ulster Bank and Coutts and Co – failed to adequately screen their customers and the payments they made and received, as per the government’s sanctions list between December 15, 2007, and December 31, 2008. This resulted in an unacceptable risk that the RBSG could have facilitated transactions involving sanctions targets, including terrorist financing, the FSA statement said.
This is the first fine imposed by the FSA under these regulations, the statement added. “The involvement of financial institutions in providing funds, economic resources of financial services to designated persons on the sanctions list undermines the integrity of the UK’s financial services sector,” FSA Director of Enforcement and Financial Crime Margaret Cole said. As the RBS Group agreed to settle the FSA investigation at an early stage, it has qualified for a 30 per cent reduction in penalty. The FSA would have otherwise imposed a financial penalty of eight million pounds, it said.
Singapore Hindu temple faces probe
Singapore: A Hindu temple in Singapore is under police investigation after the Commissioner of Charities (COC) found financial irregularities and serious lapse in the governance, according to a local media report. The enquiry found evidence of suspected forgery of payment vouchers and misappropriation of the Sri Siva Krishna Temple’s funds between Jan. 2007 and Jul. 2008. The Straits Times’ has quoted the Commissioner of Charities as saying. While there was a management committee, the temple was effectively “in the sole control” of the then President Arumugam Sivalingam, according to the COC. “Sivalingam had sole custody of the donation monies and gold received by the temple and he maintained the accounting records, approved contracts/purchases and disbursed cash/cheques on behalf of the temple,” said the COC. A large sum of SGD 1 million was paid in cash to vendors, some of whom said they had not received it. The COC, a government agency monitoring charities and religious organization, has been investigating the temple’s finance managing since February and has lodged a police report.
Iran woman facing death by
stoning hits out at govt
London: A woman sentenced to death by stoning in Iran for adultery accused authorities of lying about the charges against her so that they could execute her in secret, in an interview published.
Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, 43, spoke through an intermediary for the interview with the ‘Guardian’ newspaper and also put her treatment down to gender, adding “they think they can do anything to women in this country.”
The case of the mother of two has sparked an international outcry, with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva offering her asylum in his country. Mohammedi-Ashtiani, whose sentence has been temporarily put on ice, accused Iranian officials of lying by saying she had been found guilty of conspiracy to murder her husband as well as adultery.
Mossadegh Kahnemoui, a senior Iranian judicial official, gave that information to the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and said that “nothing is final” in the case. Of these comments, Mohammedi-Ashitani said, “They’re lying. They are embarrassed by the international attention on my case and they are desperately trying to distract attention and confuse the media so that they can kill me in secret.”
She added, “I was guilty of adultery and was acquitted of murder, but the man who actually killed my husband was identified and imprisoned but he is not sentenced to death.”
Explaining what had happened, she went on, “It’s because I’m a woman, it’s because they think they can do anything to women in this country.” Mohammedi-Ashtiani also revealed that when she was first sentenced, she did not realise she was facing being stoned because she did not understand the Arabic word used. Her lawyer, Mohammed Mostafaie, has fled to Turkey where he requested asylum, and she said she feared she was more vulnerable without him.
New Delhi: The Government decided to launch an ambitious old age Social Security Scheme involving an annual pension assistance of `1,000 each to four million workers in the unorganised sector for next four years, beginning this fiscal. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Rechristened Swavalamban Scheme, the New Pension System (NPS) is the first major national scheme, aimed at providing old-age security to all sections of the society, especially the vulnerable sections, said an official statement. To finance the scheme, the Government has approved an allocation of `1,000 crore over a period of four years as co-contribution to subscribers of the New Pension System, said the statement.
Maharashtra to have green vehicle tax
Mumbai: The Maharashtra cabinet approved levying a ‘green tax’ on commercial vehicles that are more than seven years old and on noncommercial or private vehicles that are 15 year old.
The move is aimed at discouraging use of older vehicles and reduce pollution, an official said after the meeting. As vehicles age, their engines become inefficient and pump out more emission that is environmentally harmful, he said.
A tax bill would be introduced in the next session of legislature, the official said. There are over a crore registered vehicles in the state, of which 80 per cent are two-wheelers, he said.
A tax bill would be introduced in the next session of legislature, the official said. There are over a crore registered vehicles in the state, of which 80 per cent are two-wheelers, he said.
The tax will be similar to the green tax levied on vehicles by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh in 2002, Karnataka introduced the tax by amending the Karnataka Motor Vehicles taxation Act, 1957.
In 2008, Himachal Pradesh had also imposed a green tax on vehicles users in an effort to generate a fund to combat climate change.
IUML to step drive against extremist outfits
Thiruvananthapuram: Mainstream Muslim political parties and organisations in Kerala have joined hands against extremism that has brought a bad name to the entire community in the state.
They will be turning the heat on the radical outfit, Popular Font of India (PFI), and the Jamaat-e-Isalmi (JI), under fire for a series of extremist activities rocking the state.
A meeting, convened by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) at Kottakkal in Malappuram decided to launch a joint campaign against the extremist line propounded by the two organizations.
“Through their dark deeds, these organizations have put the Muslim community in a situation for all and sundry to ride roughshod over the Muslims”, said IUML general secretary P K Kunahlikutty after the meeting. He said that the recent incidents of extremism were the handiwork of a “microscopic minority”, but the entire community was facing the brunt. They have been indulging in extremist activities by misusing religion and it was time to isolate them”, he added. The campaign would use social, political and religious fora, to fight the two outfits. The meeting also condemned the barbarous attack on Newman college lecturer T J Joseph for framing a provocative question.
Nigerians rounded up in Mira Road - Mumbai
A joint operation by Orissa police along with their local counterparts has exposed chinks in the mandatory tenant verification drive of the Thane (rural) police.
26 African nationals were detained in raids carried out at Indralok and RNP Park areas, police said. Following tip-off that a gang of African nationals involved in a criminal offence in their jurisdiction, were holed up in the Mira Road area, a police team from Orissa, assisted by local cops carried out raids and detained the suspected illegal immigrants. While 22 of the 26 foreign nationals produced their documents including passports and visas, 3 had already been charged for illegal stay, while one of them failed to produce any documents.
India/Mauritius review – DTAA
New Delhi: India said it is reviewing the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius to prevent tax evasion and strengthen exchange of information on the matter between the two countries.
“Government has proposed to review the India Mauritius DTAA to incorporate appropriate changes in the DTAC for prevention of treaty shopping and to strengthen the mechanism for exchange of information on tax matters between India and Mauritius,” Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. He said Mauritius based companies are subjected to minimal or nil taxes in that country as capital gains is fully exempt from taxation there.
“India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) provides for taxation of capital gains arising from alienation of shares only in the country of residence of the investor,” Palanimanickam added.
Thus, an investor routing his investments through Mauritius into India does not pay capital gains tax either in India or in Mauritius.
Mauritius has become an attractive route for investment into India more as treaty shopping, through which the resident of a third country takes advantage of the provision of the DTAA between the two countries to reduce tax liability.
India signed a Convention in 1982 with Mauritius for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion and to encourage mutual trade and investment.
Royal Bank of Scotland fined £ 5.6mn
LONDON: UK financial regulator FSA said it has fined the Royal Bank of Scotland Group 5.6 million pounds for its failure to put in place adequate systems and controls to prevent breaches of financial sanctions imposed by the government against certain entities and countries.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) stated that certain members of the RBS Group—RBS Plc, NatWest, Ulster Bank and Coutts and Co – failed to adequately screen their customers and the payments they made and received, as per the government’s sanctions list between December 15, 2007, and December 31, 2008. This resulted in an unacceptable risk that the RBSG could have facilitated transactions involving sanctions targets, including terrorist financing, the FSA statement said.
This is the first fine imposed by the FSA under these regulations, the statement added. “The involvement of financial institutions in providing funds, economic resources of financial services to designated persons on the sanctions list undermines the integrity of the UK’s financial services sector,” FSA Director of Enforcement and Financial Crime Margaret Cole said. As the RBS Group agreed to settle the FSA investigation at an early stage, it has qualified for a 30 per cent reduction in penalty. The FSA would have otherwise imposed a financial penalty of eight million pounds, it said.
Singapore Hindu temple faces probe
Singapore: A Hindu temple in Singapore is under police investigation after the Commissioner of Charities (COC) found financial irregularities and serious lapse in the governance, according to a local media report. The enquiry found evidence of suspected forgery of payment vouchers and misappropriation of the Sri Siva Krishna Temple’s funds between Jan. 2007 and Jul. 2008. The Straits Times’ has quoted the Commissioner of Charities as saying. While there was a management committee, the temple was effectively “in the sole control” of the then President Arumugam Sivalingam, according to the COC. “Sivalingam had sole custody of the donation monies and gold received by the temple and he maintained the accounting records, approved contracts/purchases and disbursed cash/cheques on behalf of the temple,” said the COC. A large sum of SGD 1 million was paid in cash to vendors, some of whom said they had not received it. The COC, a government agency monitoring charities and religious organization, has been investigating the temple’s finance managing since February and has lodged a police report.
Iran woman facing death by
stoning hits out at govt
London: A woman sentenced to death by stoning in Iran for adultery accused authorities of lying about the charges against her so that they could execute her in secret, in an interview published.
Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, 43, spoke through an intermediary for the interview with the ‘Guardian’ newspaper and also put her treatment down to gender, adding “they think they can do anything to women in this country.”
The case of the mother of two has sparked an international outcry, with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva offering her asylum in his country. Mohammedi-Ashtiani, whose sentence has been temporarily put on ice, accused Iranian officials of lying by saying she had been found guilty of conspiracy to murder her husband as well as adultery.
Mossadegh Kahnemoui, a senior Iranian judicial official, gave that information to the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and said that “nothing is final” in the case. Of these comments, Mohammedi-Ashitani said, “They’re lying. They are embarrassed by the international attention on my case and they are desperately trying to distract attention and confuse the media so that they can kill me in secret.”
She added, “I was guilty of adultery and was acquitted of murder, but the man who actually killed my husband was identified and imprisoned but he is not sentenced to death.”
Explaining what had happened, she went on, “It’s because I’m a woman, it’s because they think they can do anything to women in this country.” Mohammedi-Ashtiani also revealed that when she was first sentenced, she did not realise she was facing being stoned because she did not understand the Arabic word used. Her lawyer, Mohammed Mostafaie, has fled to Turkey where he requested asylum, and she said she feared she was more vulnerable without him.
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