On the first of April, several countries will implement new changes. These include tax reform in India, a visa fee hike in the US, and the legalisation of cannabis possession in Germany. Here’s a brief overview to help you keep track of all these new changes.
India tax reform
In India, April 1 is set to change income tax rules with the new income tax law setting in as the default tax regime. However, Taxpayers will still be able to choose from the prior regime.
This move intends to make the tax filing process simple alongside encouraging more people to apply for this regime. Earlier in February Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced this during her budget speech.
The tax rebate limit will now be increased to ₹7 lakh from erstwhile ₹5 lakh. Moreover, investments in debt mutual funds will now be taxed as short-term capital gains depriving investors of the long-term tax benefits that they used to enjoy previously.
Besides this, if physical gold is converted to an Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR) and vice versa there will not be any capital gain tax.
For senior citizen savings schemes, the maximum deposit limit will be increased to ₹30 lakhs from ₹15 lakhs. The maximum deposit limit for the monthly income scheme will be increased to ₹9 lakhs from 4.5 lakhs for single accounts and ₹15 lakhs from ₹7.5 lakhs for joint accounts.
US visa fee hike
People applying for non-immigrant US visas like H-1B, L-1, and EB-5 US Visas will experience a major fee hike from April 1. The changes come ahead of the presidential election potentially impacting immigration policies and international relations.
The H-1B visa application fee (form I-129) has increased from USD 460 (over ₹38,000) to USD 780 (over ₹64,000). H-1B registration fees would rise from USD 10 (₹829) to USD 215 (nearly ₹17,000) beginning next year.
The fee for L-1 visas has been increased from USD 460 (over ₹38,000) to USD 1,385 (over ₹1,10,000). The L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa category in the US that allows multinational companies to transfer certain employees from their foreign offices to work in the US temporarily.
The EB-5 visas also known as investors visas fees have jumped from USD 3,675 (over ₹3,00,000) to USD 11,160 (over ₹9,00,000). Through the EB-5 program, high-net-worth foreign investors can obtain a US visa by investing at least USD 5,00,000 in a US business that helps create 10 jobs for American workers.
Germany cannabis legalisation
Germany has joined the list of countries establishing legal adult access to cannabis for recreational use. Last week the country passed the bill legalising cannabis usage for leisure purposes by legal adults. It was passed with a huge majority in the lower house.
With this development, over half a billion people will have access to cannabis for recreational use.
This new law is coming into force on 1 April, the people can keep up to 25g of cannabis for personal use and up to 50g in the home. Moreover, this law will also allow requests to remove criminal records for past possession offenses. Alongside this, legalise home growing of up to three cannabis plants for personal use, and establish a regulatory framework for not-for-profit associations within which cannabis can be grown and supplied to members.
