Business
New Income Tax Act 2025 to come into effect from April 1, key reliefs announced in Budget 2026
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that the Income Tax Act 2025 will come into effect from April 1, 2026, and the I-T forms have been redesigned such that ordinary citizens can comply without difficulty for ease of living.
The new measures include exemption on insurance interest awards, nil deduction certificates for small taxpayers, and extension of the ITR filing deadline for non-audit cases to August 31.
Individuals with ITR 1 and ITR 2 will continue to file I-T returns till July 31.
“In July 2024, I announced a comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act 1961. This was completed in record time, and the Income Tax Act 2025 will come into effect from April 1, 2026. The forms have been redesigned such that ordinary citizens can comply without difficulty, for) ease of living,” she said while presenting the Budget 2026-27
In a move that directly eases cash-flow pressure on individuals making overseas payments, the Union Budget announced lower tax collection at source across key categories.
“I propose to reduce the TCS rate on the sale of overseas tour programme packages from the current 5 per cent and 20 per cent to 2 per cent without any stipulation of amount. I propose to reduce the TCS rate for pursuing education and for medical purposes from 5 per cent to 2 per cent,” said Sitharaman.
She clarified withholding on services, adding that “supply of manpower services is proposed to be specifically brought within the ambit of payment contractors for the purpose of TDS to avoid ambiguity”.
“Thus, TDS on these services will be at the rate of either 1 per cent or 2 per cent only,” she mentioned during her Budget speech.
The Budget also proposes a tax holiday for foreign cloud companies using data centres in India till 2047.
Business
Oil and gas prices rise after gas field strike
“As previously warned, if the fuel, energy, gas, and economic infrastructures of our country are attacked by the American-Zionist enemy, in addition to a powerful counterattack against the enemy, we will severely strike the origin of that aggression as well,” the military said in a statement published by Tasnim.
Business
Disney embarks on new chapter as Josh D’Amaro takes over as CEO
Larissa Manoela and Josh D’Amaro, Chairperson of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, wave to the audience after Panel Disney Experiences during Day 2 of the D23 Brazil: A Disney Experience at Transamerica Expo Center on November 09, 2024 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Ricardo Moreira | Getty Images
Disney is turning the page on a new chapter as Josh D’Amaro steps in as CEO of the media and theme park powerhouse.
D’Amaro most recently served as chairman of Disney Experiences, which includes the company’s theme parks, cruise line, resorts and consumer products. He will officially succeed Bob Iger as chief executive during the company’s annual shareholder meeting Wednesday.
The longtime Disney executive takes over after a period of uncertainty for the century-old company — including a closely watched succession race and a recent reorganization and turnaround — that has left it with a mixed reception from Wall Street.
Disney’s stock is down more than 10% year to date as of Tuesday’s close.
D’Amaro’s most immediate task will be sustaining momentum in Disney’s core growth areas. The company’s most recent quarterly earnings were lifted by its theme parks and streaming, the two areas that remain in focus for investors, industry peers and consumers alike.
The company has recently embarked on a major investment in its theme parks, including an expansion with a theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and has seen its streaming business reach consecutive quarters of profitability.
Disney also returned to the top of the box office with hits like “Lilo & Stitch,” “Zootopia” and “Avatar” in 2025.
Welcome wagon
In this handout image provided by Disneyland Resort, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro and The Walt Disney Company Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger speak during the 70th anniversary celebrations of Disneyland Resort on July 17, 2025 in Anaheim, California.
Handout | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
This is the second time Iger handed over the reins to a successor in roughly six years. He will remain as a Disney senior advisor and board member until he retires from the company on Dec. 31.
The storied CEO led Disney for roughly 20 years over the course of two stints at the top. In his first 15 years Iger was responsible for some of its biggest acquisitions like Marvel’s and Fox’s entertainment assets, as well as the launch of Disney+.
He stepped down in 2020, but his time away from the company was capped at two years following a handoff to Bob Chapek that was rife with drama.
In Disney’s February announcement of D’Amaro’s appointment, Iger called D’Amaro an “exceptional leader and the right person to become our next CEO.”
D’Amaro, 55, has been at Disney since 1998 and has held a variety of roles at the company. Under his leadership, Disney’s theme parks division has blossomed into a driving force and an earnings driver.
Business
Tories set to force vote on scrapping fuel duty increase
The Tories are set to force a vote in the Commons on scrapping a planned fuel duty increase amid soaring oil prices following the US-Israel attacks on Iran.
Shadow transport secretary Ricard Holden branded the increase “another egregious tax” as he opened an Opposition Day motion on Wednesday in an effort to block the proposed September rise.
Oil and gas prices have been driven up as Iran has throttled key shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, with commercial vessels coming under attack in the region.
The Conservatives’ motion is unlikely to pass due to Labour’s large Commons majority.
Mr Holden branded the increase the “wrong thing to do” and accused the Government of “choosing to balance the books on the back of working Britain”.
He said: “This House has come together to hear of yet another egregious tax on transport pushed out by this Labour Government at a time when people across the country are worried about the cost of getting around.
“On this occasion, the Government, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that this is a moment, the opportune time, to cancel the fuel duty freeze the last Conservative government kept for 13 years, protecting hard-working people from paying extra to get to work, to have appointments, to visit friends and families.”
Fuel duty has been frozen since 2011, and was temporarily cut by 5p in 2022 in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In her budget last year, Ms Reeves said the 5p cut would be gradually unwound from September.
Mr Holden continued: “Under this Government, on top of the countless tax rises that they‘ve already shafted us with, we cannot even get through two years before they decide that the British people need yet another tax rise, and it’s a tax rise in a sneaky and stealthy way.”
Under current plans, fuel duty will rise by 1 pence per litre in September. The current levels are the same as the freeze introduced in March 2022.
He said: “The British people deserve better than underhand taxes swindling them out of the pounds in their pockets, and to pay for that? To pay for more welfare, a tax on every car, every van, every motorbike and every bus.”
Treasury minister Torsten Bell responded that the Government recognises that “fuel costs matter enormously to people right across the country” and insisted they have “already taken action to ensure that fuel remains affordable”.
“In November’s budget, we extended the temporary 5p per litre cut to fuel duty for a further five months,” he said.
“Additionally, we cancelled the inflation-linked increase plan for 26/27.
“Our fuel duty changes will save the average motorist over £90.”
He added: “This Government will take the necessary decisions to help protect both household finances and public finances.”
“For all the froth from the shadow secretary of state, the truth is the last government didn’t budget for any extension of the 5p cut.
“They said explicitly it was temporary, and on the level of fuel duty, here is the truth: through the entire 14 years in office, it was never lower than it is today. In fact, it was higher than it is today for 80% of the time they were in office.”
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