DTC bill scarps LTA from tax exemption list

NEW DELHI: Salaried taxpayers may have less kitty for holidays from April 2012, with the government proposing to scrap tax incentives on leave travel allowance in the new direct tax regime DTC.

The Direct Taxes Code (DTC) bill, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha yesterday, seeks to do away with leave travel concession (LTC) from its list of exemption.

"LTC was one of the popular elements given to employees by the government. Taxpayers will not be too happy, as already there aren't many benefits for them in DTC. It may also be a dampener for the travel industry, which may see less people willing to travel and holiday," Ernst & Young Tax Partner Vishal Malhotra said.

DTC aims to replace the archaic Income Tax Act and other direct taxes legislation like Wealth Tax Act, from April 1, 2012. It proposes, among other things, to remove a plethora of exemptions and effect changes in income tax slabs.

While DTC proposes to retain exemptions such as house rent allowance and leave encashment, it seeks to remove LTC from the list. The exemption limit for medical reimbursements, however, is sought to be increased.

The Government has also proposed only a marginal raise in income tax exemption for investment in approved funds, insurance schemes and tuition fee to Rs 1.5 lakh in a year, from Rs 1.2 lakh currently.

It seeks to provide income tax exemption on investment of up to Rs 1 lakh in approved funds. Besides, it proposes to provide exemption of up to Rs 50,000 on investments made in insurance, including health cover, and tuition fee.

Currently, investment up to Rs 1 lakh in approved funds and insurance schemes is exempt from income tax. For this fiscal, investment up to Rs 20,000 in infrastructure bonds have also been given this benefit.

The exemptions proposed in the DTC bill are much lower than Rs 3 lakh suggested in the first draft.

This is so because the bill proposes to retain Income Tax exemption on interest up to Rs 1.5 lakh a year paid on housing loan, tax experts said.

The first draft was silent on exemption for interest paid on housing loans. However, after adverse feedback from various quarter, the second draft proposed to retain this exemption, which is also incorporated in the bill.

courtesy: Economic Times

Turn the job u have into the job u want

A 30-year-old midlevel manager—let’s call her Fatima—is struggling at work, but you wouldn’t know it from outward appearances. A star member of her team in the marketing division of a large multinational foods company, Fatima consistently hits her benchmarks and goals. She invests long hours and has built relationships with colleagues that she deeply values. And her senior managers think of her as one of the company’s high potentials.

But outside the office, Fatima (who asked not to be identified by her real name) would admit that she feels stagnant in her job, trapped by the tension between day-to-day demands and what she really wants to be doing: exploring how the company can use social media in its marketing efforts. Twitter, her cause-marketing blog, and mobile gadgets are her main passions. She’d like to look for another job, but given the slow recovery from the recession, sticking it out seems like her best (and perhaps only) option. “I’m still working hard,” she tells a friend. “But I’m stuck. Every week, I feel less and less motivated. I’m beginning to wonder why I wanted this position in the first place.”

Sound familiar? Over the past several years, we’ve spoken with hundreds of people, in a variety of industries and occupations, who, like Fatima, are feeling stuck—that dreaded word again. According to a recent survey of 5,000 U.S. households by The Conference Board, only 45% of those polled say they are satisfied with their jobs—down from about 60% in 1987, the first year the survey was conducted.

If you’re in this situation, and changing roles or companies is unrealistic given the tough economy, what can you do? A growing body of research suggests that an exercise we call “job crafting” can be a powerful tool for reenergizing and reimagining your work life. It involves redefining your job to incorporate your motives, strengths, and passions. The exercise prompts you to visualize the job, map its elements, and reorganize them to better suit you. In this way, you can put personal touches on how you see and do your job, and you’ll gain a greater sense of control at work—which is especially critical at a time when you’re probably working longer and harder and expecting to retire later. Perhaps job crafting’s best feature is that it’s driven by you, not your supervisor.

This exercise involves assessing and then altering one or more of the following core aspects of work.

Tasks.

You can change the boundaries of your job by taking on more or fewer tasks, expanding or diminishing their scope, or changing how they are performed. A sales manager, for instance, might take on additional event planning because he likes the challenge of organizing people and logistics.

Relationships.

You can change the nature or extent of your interactions with other people. A managing director, for example, might create mentoring relationships with young associates as a way to connect with and teach those who represent the future of the firm.

Perceptions.

You can change how you think about the purpose of certain aspects of your job; or you can reframe the job as a whole. The director of a nonprofit institution, for instance, might choose to think of his job as two separate parts, one not particularly enjoyable (the pursuit of contributions and grants) and one very meaningful (creating opportunities for emerging artists). Or the leader of an R&D unit might come to see her work as a way of advancing the science in her field rather than simply managing projects.

by Amy Wrzesniewski, Justin M. Berg, and Jane E. Dutton

Today's focus of HR Managers

a) Policies- HR policies based on trust, openness, equity and consensus.

b) Motivation- Create conditions in which people are willing to work with zeal, initiative and enthusiasm; make people feel like winners.

c) Relations- Fair treatment of people and prompt redress of grievances would pave the way for healthy work-place relations.

d) Change agent- Prepare workers to accept technological changes by clarifying doubts.

e) Quality Consciousness- Commitment to quality in all aspects of personnel administration will ensure success.

Due to the new trends in HR, in a nutshell the HR manager should treat people as resources, reward them equitably, and integrate their aspirations with corporate goals through suitable HR policies.

refer to : http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles_various/human-resources.asp