New Delhi, Nov 24 (PTI) As many as two lakh Income Tax Returns (ITRs) containing details of foreign assets and income have been filed during the current assessment year till now, according to the tax department which urged Indian residents for tax purposes to ensure they file the right form and revise their returns if they submitted the wrong form. The shares obtained and income earned by resident tax Indians from their employers through employee stock options should also be disclosed to the Income-Tax Department by filling foreign assets and foreign source income schedule provided in the relevant ITR, a senior CBDT officer explained. The tax department and its administrative authority Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) recently launched a campaign to ensure that the select category of taxpayers (Indian residents for tax purposes) report their foreign assets (FA) and foreign source income (FSI) during the 2024-25 assessment year by the deadline of December 31. The department conducted a 'Samvaad' online interaction session on the subject of 'property disclosure of foreign assets and income by taxpayers' where the Commissioner (investigation) in the CBDT Shashi Bhushan Shukla explained various provisions of the subject and relevant linked provisions of the anti-black money Act of 2015. Shukla stated that taxpayers (categorised as tax residents of India in the previous year) should choose the correct ITR to furnish these details to the I-T department. Those who possess such assets or income but have filed either ITR-1 or ITR-4 should file a revised or belated return by December 31 to escape penalty and prosecution prescribed under the anti-black money law, he said. "ITR-1 and ITR-4 do not have the FA and FSI schedule... I would request those taxpayers who are supposed to declare their foreign assets or income to file a revised return in the relevant ITR and comply with the rules and law," the officer said. He also said that those taxpayers who got shares and earned dividend (interest) income from shares allotted to them via the employee stock option by their overseas employer are also required to report such information to the Indian tax authorities. If there is a tax payable, then they should pay that tax too, the officer said. He said holding an asset abroad is reportable in the ITR even if no income is earned by the said taxpayer through such an asset. Such an asset is also reportable to the taxman irrespective of the time of its purchase, the officer said. If the taxpayer has already paid tax in a foreign jurisdiction (by way of withholding tax) on such assets or income then they should file the 'tax relief' schedule in the ITR and claim relief from Indian tax authorities and save themselves from being taxed doubly for the same income, Shukla explained. India has signed the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) for the said purpose with various countries. Apart from these, he said, agreements and mutual exchange treaties like CRS (common reporting standard) with 123 countries and FATCA (foreign account tax compliance) with the US have been signed through which Indian tax authorities annually get information about the foreign assets and income of Indians based abroad. "As part of the current campaign on this subject, we are sending emails and SMSes to such taxpayers whose information has been received from foreign jurisdictions and they have income beyond a threshold or they have undertaken high-value transactions," he said. The officer said such campaigns have led to a steady rise in reporting of foreign assets by taxpayers with about two lakh filings being done during the 2024-25 AY till now, 1.6 lakh during 2023-24 AY, 75,000 ITRs filed during 2022-23 AY amd 60,000 during the AY 2021-22. Speaking about the "so-called" alleged tax haven jurisdictions like the British Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Malta, Jersey, Luxembourg, etc., the officer said India was also getting information on the assets held by Indians in such nations via the CRS agreement. He said the procedure to fill the FA and FSI columns in ITRs is also explained on the department's e-filing portal. A foreign asset includes bank accounts, cash value insurance contract or annuity contract, financial interest in any entity or business, immovable property, custodial account, equity and debt interest, trusts in which a person is a trustee, beneficiary of settlor, accounts with singing authority, any capital asset etc., held abroad. A tax resident of India, as per the I-T law, is a person who spent 182 days or more in the country over the last year or a person who lived a minimum of 365 days in the last four years. (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)No. 12 Boise State heads to Wyoming hoping to maintain No. 4 seed in College Football Playoff
Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees?President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on a simmering feud among MAGA allies over H-1B worker visas, telling the New York Post that he supports the program, according to the outlet. Trump told the New York Post that he has “always liked the visas.” The H-1B visa program allows employers to temporarily hire non-U.S. citizens for highly skilled jobs. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” he said, according to the outlet’s report. A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. During his first term, the Trump administration implemented rules that would have cut the number of H-1B visas issued each year. The rules, however, were ultimately struck down in court. In recent days, MAGA world has been embroiled in a debate over the program, with one faction defending the visas and another faction arguing that the program allows foreigners to take American jobs. Trump allies, including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, argued in online posts that the visa program benefits the country. The latest news on Donald Trump's presidency Musk said in a post this week that “the number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low.” Musk, who was born in South Africa and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, said that the reason he and others who built SpaceX and Tesla are in the U.S. is because of the H-1B program. “Take a big step back and F--- YOURSELF in the face,” he said in a post . “I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.” Musk said in a post to X that “those contemptible fools must be removed from the Republican Party,” later clarifying that he was referring to “those in the Republican Party who are hateful, unrepentant racists.” Musk’s posts came in reply to a post from Scott Adams, the creator of the “Dilbert” comic, who said “MAGA is taking a page from Democrats on how to lose elections while feeling good about themselves.” Separately, Ramaswamy, who is partnering with Musk to lead Trump’s nongovernmental Department of Government Efficiency, argued in a post to X that he hopes American culture again prioritizes “hard work over laziness.” Ramaswamy also said in a post to X on Friday that the H-1B visa program “is badly broken & should be replaced with one that focuses on selecting the very best of the best (not a lottery), pro-competitive (no indentured service to one company), and de-bureaucratized.” Republicans who criticized H-1B visas included far-right activists Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also weighed in, calling it “lazy” for the “tech industry to automatically go to foreign workers for their needs.” “Invest in our American workforce,” she said in a post to X on Friday. “We must invest in Americans first before looking elsewhere.” Musk also faced accusations of censoring critics after more than a dozen conservatives, including Loomer, said their blue badge verification on X had been revoked after they criticized Musk over his views on immigration. This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:CONWAY, Ark. (AP) — Elias Cato scored 23 points as Central Arkansas beat UNC Asheville 92-83 in double overtime on Sunday. Jordan Morris made two free throws with one second left for UNC Asheville (2-3) to force overtime tied at 71. Fletcher Abee's 3-pointer with 33 seconds left in the first overtime tied the game at 79 and led to the second extra period. Michael Evbagharu's layup gave Central Arkansas (2-4) the lead in the second OT and Cato followed with a 3-pointer as the Bears outscored the Bulldogs 21-12 to pull out the victory. Cato added nine rebounds for the Bears. Layne Taylor totaled 19 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals. Brayden Fagbemi pitched in with 19 points, seven assists and five steals. The Bulldogs (2-3) were led by Fletcher Abee, who recorded 27 points. UNC Asheville also got 17 points from Josh Banks. Toyaz Solomon finished with 15 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
College Football Playoff's first 12-team bracket is set with Oregon No. 1 and SMU in, Alabama out SMU captured the last open spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, bumping Alabama to land in a bracket that placed undefeated Oregon at No. 1. The selection committee preferred the Mustangs, losers of a heartbreaker in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, who had a far less difficult schedule than Alabama of the SEC but one fewer loss. The inaugural 12-team bracket marks a new era for college football, though the Alabama-SMU debate made clear there is no perfect formula. The tournament starts Dec. 20-21 with four first-round games. It concludes Jan. 20 with the national title game in Atlanta. Alabama left out of playoff as committee rewards SMU's wins over Crimson Tide's strong schedule The College Football Playoff committee took wins over strength of schedule, taking SMU over Alabama for the final at-large spot in the field. The field was expanded from four to 12 teams this season, but that didn’t save the committee from controversy. SMU showed it could compete against a traditional power, losing to Clemson 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal in the ACC title game on Saturday. Alabama had some ups and downs in its first season under coach Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide had quality wins against Georgia and South Carolina, but lost at Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Big Ten wins playoff selection derby, followed by SEC despite notable Alabama omission College football’s conference shakeup left concerns about two super conferences dominating the playoff field. They weren’t totally unfounded, or 100% born out. The Big Ten, not the Southeastern Conference, was the biggest winner. The ACC scored, too. The Big Ten led the initial 12-team playoff field with four making the cut, topped by a No. 1 Oregon team that was part of the Pac-12 exodus. Then came the SEC — and one notable omission. ACC runner-up SMU got the nod over college football blue-blood Alabama, another blemish in Kalen DeBoer’s first season as Nick Saban’s championship-or-bust successor. Darnold delivers for Vikings with career-high 347 yards and 5 TDs to beat Falcons, Cousins 42-21 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold threw for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, and the Minnesota Vikings pulled away from Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons 42-21 for their sixth straight victory. Darnold added another highlight to his brilliant first season with the Vikings following Cousins' departure in free agency to Atlanta with a 22-for-28 performance and no turnover-worthy plays despite heavy first-half pressure. Jordan Addison had eight catches for 133 yards and three scores and Justin Jefferson racked up seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Cousins threw two more interceptions without a touchdown in his return to Minnesota. Saquon Barkley sets Eagles season rushing record and has Dickerson's NFL mark in his sights PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley has broken LeSean McCoy's Eagles franchise record for rushing yards in a season. Barkley has 1,623 yards. He surpassed McCoy's mark of 1,607 yards with a 9-yard run in Sunday's 22-16 win over Carolina. Barkley finished the game with 124 yards, within a yard of his season average. He has four games left and is on pace to break Eric Dickerson's 40-year-old NFL record of 2,105 yards. Dickerson set that record in a 16-game season and Barkley has one more game. Eagles fans serenaded Barkley with “MVP!” chants and McCoy congratulated him on social media. Saints QB Derek Carr injures left hand on dive in 4th quarter of win over Giants EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr injured his left hand late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 14-11 victory over the New York Giants when he went airborne while trying for a first down and crashed to the turf. Carr tried to leap over a Giants tackler and landed at the New Orleans 39-yard line, extending his non-throwing hand to break his fall. He was on the turf for a minute or two before walking to the medical tent. He was examined and slowly walked to an area where X-rays are done. The injury could hurt the already slim playoff hopes of the Saints. Tamar Bates scores 29 points to help Missouri beat No. 1 Kansas 76-67 COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Tamar Bates had 29 points and five steals to help Missouri beat Hunter Dickinson and No. 1 Kansas 76-67. Mark Mitchell scored 17 points in Missouri’s first win over Kansas since a 74-71 victory on Feb. 4, 2012. Anthony Robinson II had 11 points and five steals for the 8-1 Tigers. Dickinson had 19 points and 14 rebounds, but he also committed seven turnovers. The 7-2 Jayhawks have lost two straight on the road after falling 76-63 against Creighton on Wednesday night. Scottie Scheffler ends his big year in the Bahamas with his 9th victory NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Scottie Scheffler ended his biggest year with another victory. Scheffler was coming off a two-month break and looked as good as ever. He shot 63 in the Hero World Challenge and set tournament records at Albany with a 72-hole total of 263 and a six-shot victory. Tom Kim was the runner-up and Justin Thomas finished third. Scheffler ends his year with nine victories in 21 tournaments. That includes the holiday tournament in the Bahamas and the Olympic gold medal in Paris. It's the third-highest winning percentage in the last 40 years. Tournament host Tiger Woods had two better years. Lindsey Vonn is encouraged by how close she is to being competitive in ski racing return at age 40 COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. (AP) — Lindsey Vonn is encouraged by how close she is to being competitive again in her ski racing return at 40 years old. Vonn is still getting her ski equipment dialed in and getting used to going full speed again on her new titanium knee. That’s why all that she's reading into being more than two seconds behind in a pair of lower-level super-G races Sunday is that she’s right there. This after nearly six years away from ski racing and an abbreviated prep period. She was 2.19 seconds behind in the first race and 2.06 in the second. Both were won by her American teammate Lauren Macuga. Plane circles MetLife Stadium with message to co-owner John Mara to fix the Giants' 'dumpster fire' EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — A small plane circled MetLife Stadium roughly 90 minutes before New York was to play host to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, asking Giants co-owner John Mara to overhaul the team that has made the playoffs twice since winning the Super Bowl in February 2012. “Mr. Mara, enough. Please fix this dumpster fire!” the message read as it was towed behind the rear of a small plane.
HOUSTON — The second version of the Uplift Harris guaranteed income program. The program was designed to give money to Harris County families that fell under a certain income level. Paxton’s office sent out a release Friday , saying he’s secured a stay to keep Harris County from starting the program, which would have provided money on preloaded debit cards to qualifying families. In the release, Paxton said that the Texas Constitution forbids cities or counties from giving public money or things of value to individuals. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee's office sent out a statement Friday, vowing to push on. "We disagree with the court’s interpretation of the Texas Constitution and the outcome of this decision," he said. "Harris County families deserve support, and we’ll keep pushing for solutions that give them a fair shot." The original version of the Uplift Harris program identified 1,900 families that the county said qualified, based on income. Those families were to receive $500 per month for a year and a half as a pilot program. In April, Paxton sued. The Texas Supreme Court then blocked the program from taking effect within an hour of the first payments going out. After that, Harris County officials launched a second version of the program, which put restrictions on what people could use the money on. Paxton again sued to stop it, saying it was still unconstitutional. At a hearing back in September , a Texas Senate committee looked into the program. At the time, Sen. Paul Bettencourt called the giveaway a “no-strings-attached lottery giveaway.” Meanwhile, Harris County attorney Christian Menefee accused Paxton of "using people living in poverty as a means to score political points."resident ’s statement during the Group of 20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to bring forward Indonesia’s net-zero emissions (NZE) target from 2060 to 2050, opens an immense opportunity for Indonesia to start refocusing its global competitive strategy toward the sustainability industry. Indonesia needs to refocus its competitive strategy as competition among countries is becoming increasingly intense and overt. If we study carefully, countries that can anticipate future developments and implement strategic decisions in a disciplined manner will emerge as leaders. Indonesia needs to make a strategic decision on what areas to focus on to achieve the Golden Indonesia target by 2045 and emerge as a leading country. One of the new areas could be the sustainability industry. To prepare for the future, Indonesia could consider the example set by China, particularly in its electric vehicle (EV) development. As a latecomer, China understood that if it could not compete with existing leaders in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, such as Japan, the United States and Europe. China pursued its EV development through consistent, disciplined investment and policy support. The investments encompass technology and human resources. The technology covers the advancement of battery technology and the development of efficient energy management systems, which are integral to the functionality of EVs. Furthermore, China has obtained access to essential raw materials, including copper and nickel, through international collaboration, particularly in African and Southeast Asian countries, especially Indonesia. In 2010, when the industry was ready to take off, the Chinese government began implementing subsidies to stimulate the growth of new energy vehicles, contributing to the exponential expansion of the EV market in the country. By developing the industry as well as the domestic market, China successfully established an ecosystem that supported the growth of the EV industry, thereby becoming a global market leader, overwhelming Europe and the US. China’s success in its EV industry is inextricably linked to a meticulous and well-conceived strategy wherein the government assumes the role of orchestrator in the development of the essential technology and resources to secure a dominant position in the global EV market. By studying China's approach to developing its EV industry, Indonesia can identify new industrial opportunities to focus on based on its comparative and competitive advantages. Whether you're looking to broaden your horizons or stay informed on the latest developments, "Viewpoint" is the perfect source for anyone seeking to engage with the issues that matter most. By registering, you agree with 's Please check your email for your newsletter subscription. Indonesia’s entrance into EV based on its comparative advantage of its nickel resources is commendable. Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of nickel, a key component of EV batteries, has been trying to play a role in the global supply chains of EVs by attracting investment into the battery industry and manufacturing of EVs. Investors from China and South Korea have been building EVs and nickel-based battery plants in Indonesia.