OK - the budget has hit - and boy, has it hit with a bang! Tax rebates slashed, interest rate cuts; you name it, the bad news can be found amid the mind-boggling pages of the budget. But what does it all finally boil down to?
THE DOUBLE WHAMMY

The most noticeable thing about the budget has been the drop in interest rates on small savings and a higher income tax surcharge.
The small savings interest rates have dropped by 0.50 per cent to nine per cent, which means that your savings will earn you less in the coming year. Therefore, your Public Provident Fund, bank deposits, NSCs and other fixed income avenues will also earn you less - and they are all now taxable. For all you hard-working women out there earning more than rupees five lakhs per annum, forget about income tax exemption under Sec 88 of the IT act. PPF and LIC will hold little or no attraction for the richer taxpayers.
For all those who earn between Rs 1.5 lakhs to Rs 4.99 lakhs, the exemption has been halved (to 10 per cent). All in all, your disposable income (purchasing power) will be lower in the coming year.
However, our generous finance minister has actually showed a little concern for salaried assessees who will not be levied any perquisite tax upto a salary of rupees one lakh. Beyond that, if your employer agrees to bear your perquisite tax, you may have a little breathing room.
The taxman, has now focused on your investments and decided that you should share some of your piece of the pie with the

rest of the nation — deserving or not! Consequently, your dividend income is no more tax free, and even dividends declared by your debt mutual funds and equity funds will now be taxable (grumble grumble!!). And should you get smart and try to save tax by investing in RBI bonds, your option is limited again, as you cannot invest more than Rs 2 lakh in these instruments.
The Gujarat earthquake surcharge ( two per cent ) has been abolished, but replaced with a defence surcharge of five per cent for those earning over Rs 60,000 per annum. All in all, your purse strings are bound to be tightened.

AT HOME
Each LPG cylinder is more expensive by Rs 40, which is a big gripe amongst housewives and kerosene will now cost Rs 1.50 more per litre.
Surprise, surprise! Petrol and diesel have become cheaper by Re 1 and Rs 0.50 respectively for the first time in ages.
Your cup that cheers may hold a bit more cheer as the excise duty on tea and coffee has been halved. However, if you’re into the ‘phoren’ variety, brace yourself... the import duty on tea and coffee just doubled to 100 per cent.
You know that power gets siphoned off to all sorts of minor ‘industries’, but now, the dear government wants you to pay for it! So now you will have to shell out for transmission and distribution losses (T&D) — watch your electricity bill climb.
The import duties on cardamom, pepper, rubber and pulses have been increased, though going on a clothes-buying spree may be marginally cheaper as the excise duties have dropped to 12 per cent from 16 per cent.
If you’re house-hunting, the deduction of interest paid on housing loans from taxable income has been extended beyond year 2003. So buying your dream house is one step closer to reality, though higher NRI inward investments may lead to real estate prices firming up. Move, and move fast!

BEAUTY AND OTHER SERVICES

More services are under the service tax net of an additional five per cent:
Laundry, beauty parlours, fashion designing, railway ticketing agents, cable TV and health clubs / fitness centres.
But, there is a special 16 per cent special excise on aerated drinks and CENVAT (central government value added tax), so since you won’t be guzzling that much, you won’t need your health club anyway - maybe that was the rationale behind this!
Sugar is also due to see a price rise, and confectionary goods will also feel the wave of the government’s levy wand, so on the whole, you’ll munch fewer of those sweet treats. See how concerned the government is about your health?
Excise rates have been reduced on sham-poos, deodorants, hair oils/gels, toiletries, skin care creams, bath preparations and talcs.
Import duties on life-saving drugs for AIDS/HIV, cancer and diabetes will either be rationalised or abolished. But thanks to patent-related rulings by the World Trade Organisation, MNCs will probably be hiking prices of their medical products soon.
TRAVEL TRICKS
Hotels have been spared from the service tax net, and expenditure tax will be applicable only on rooms with a tariff rate of over Rs 3,000, the benefits of a cheaper holiday have been snatched away by the rail budget which is hiking fares. For those who only travel by air, the cost of aviation fuel and the rates for importing aircraft have dropped, so you may see some savings there.

For Net surfers and those who cannot live without their mobiles, both PCs and mobiles will be cheaper due to the scrapping of the 16 per cent countervailing duties and rolling forward the zero duty regime upto 2004 respectively.
Except for metro cities, tax on multiplex cinema theatres has been slashed by half and movie viewing at such theatres will be a more affordable pastime.
Tipplers celebrate! ‘Phoren’ liquor will be cheaper thanks to a slight lowering of customs duties from 210 per cent to 182 per cent.
Overall, however, your best bet for some entertainment is to go for a moonlight ride in your car around your neighbourhood!
While in principle, the customs duties on foreign goods have dropped by five per cent, the dollar has appreciated by about 4.5 per cent, so any gains there are practically negated.
IN CONCLUSION

And if you’re thinking of writing to your relatives and friends to share your gripes, think again: The postal rates too, have been hiked! Company-printed post cards will cost Rs 6, pre-printed competition cards are now Rs 10, and inland letters are now Rs 2.50. Enjoy!
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