Amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown to contain COVID-19 outbreak, the Union Health Ministry on Thursday allowed doorstep delivery of essential medicines as part of an effort to restrict people’s movement further. According to a notification issued by the health ministry, medical retailers will be allowed to provide drugs to people at their doorstep. This order […]
Archives for March 2020
Why taxing global tech is easier said than done
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi The government may face challenges in imposing the new equalisation levy since the onus of paying the 2% tax will rest with foreign firms rather than consumers in India, analysts said. The tax is on global companies that offer digital products and services to Indian residents. It comes into effect from April […]
Podcasts find their voice during Covid-19 pandemic
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Arpita Mehta’s daily commute in Mumbai usually involved listening to podcasts on current affairs for about 15-20 minutes. Now, the chartered accountant is relying on podcasts related to history and economics to get through the day, working from home. Mehta is listening to three times more podcasts ever since her workplace made […]
Supply woes ease, but still a long road ahead
The disruption in supplies of essentials eased on Thursday, although consumers and the trade still complained about goods not getting through. This prompted the government to issue guidelines late on Thursday to ensure that holdups could be overcome. Retailers, both offline and online, said they saw an improvement after local authorities and police acted to […]
Piyush Goyal hears out e-commerce, food delivery and logistics CEOs
Piyush Goyal (File Pic) Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday interacted with a group of chief executives from e-commerce, food delivery, cash and carry and logistics companies over video conferencing to understand the issues they were facing, before passing on his recommendations to the home ministry. Over the past five days, e-commerce companies […]
AICPA requests broader relief for taxpayers
The AICPA on Thursday urged Treasury and the IRS to provide broader tax filing and payment relief for taxpayers affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy David J. Kautter and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig from Christopher Hesse, CPA, chair of the AICPA Tax Executive Committee, the […]
CARES Act would delay compliance with FASB credit loss standard
The federal economic stimulus bill designed to offer some relief amid the coronavirus epidemic includes a delay in the date by which financial institutions are required to comply with FASB’s new accounting standard for credit losses. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, H.R. 748, states that no depository institution, bank holding company, […]
Wolters Kluwer Offers Complimentary Webinars to Help Tax & Accounting Professionals Navigate Current Market Conditions
Online webinars help firms and their clients Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting today announced the launch of a series of complimentary webinars for tax and accounting professionals, during which Wolters Kluwer experts and guest speakers will offer insights and best-practices to help these professionals and their firms adapt to the current market landscape. In addition, […]
IRS announces more operational changes related to coronavirus
The IRS on Wednesday provided further informal guidance on how its operations would change during the coronavirus public health emergency (IR-2020-59). (See prior coverage of IRS steps to protect taxpayers and its employees here.) The steps outlined, which the IRS is calling the People First Initiative, include the following measures, among others: Installment agreements: The […]
Will coronavirus bump web traffic into the slow lane?
With more than one third of the globe’s population confined to their homes in an attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus, some are asking if the increased demand being put on the internet could substantially slow down web traffic. To what extent has web traffic grown with billions watching on screens at home? […]