Service tax is a tax levied by the government on service providers on certain service transactions, but is actually borne by the customers. It is categorized under Indirect Tax and came into existence under the Finance Act, 1994. Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, in his budget announcements proposed to impose a cess, called the Krishi Kalyan Cess, @ 0.5% on all taxable services. The present rate of service tax will be hiked to 15 per cent from June 1, 2016, from 14.5 per cent. Take a look at what gets expensive:
Phone Bills: Your phone bills are going to go up. So, pay a good 15 per cent now on service tax on phone bills.
Restaurant Bills :If you are dining in a restaurant that already has service tax applicable, you are going to pay more on your eating out. Though 0.5 per cent on a single bill may not mean much, frequent diners may end-up paying a lot during the year.
Travelling: You will have to pay more for air travel, as there is a service tax on tour operators and travel agents.
Financial services, where there is already a service tax, like insurance would become costlier from June 1, 2016.
The proceeds of the Krishi Kalyan Cess shall first be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India and the Central Government may, after due appropriation made by Parliament by law in this behalf, utilise such sums of money of the Krishi Kalyan Cess for such specified purposes.
Phone Bills: Your phone bills are going to go up. So, pay a good 15 per cent now on service tax on phone bills.
Restaurant Bills :If you are dining in a restaurant that already has service tax applicable, you are going to pay more on your eating out. Though 0.5 per cent on a single bill may not mean much, frequent diners may end-up paying a lot during the year.
Travelling: You will have to pay more for air travel, as there is a service tax on tour operators and travel agents.
Financial services, where there is already a service tax, like insurance would become costlier from June 1, 2016.
The proceeds of the Krishi Kalyan Cess shall first be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India and the Central Government may, after due appropriation made by Parliament by law in this behalf, utilise such sums of money of the Krishi Kalyan Cess for such specified purposes.