Indian family inMumbai "TrumpTower" dispute

Smita Panvalkar stands inside herapartment in the Pathare Prabhu building.

An Indian family is refusing to budge fromtheir home in Mumbai to make way for anew luxury apartment block being built bybillionaire US property tycoon DonaldTrump.

View of Mumbai's sweeping Marine Drivepromenade in Mumbai's Chowpatty beach.

The Panvalkar family says it will not movefrom their first-floor flat in a building earmarkedfor demolition to make way for thetower block, claiming that Trump's localpartner has refused to give them alternativeaccommodation.

"We're not resisting. We're for the developmentand we want it to take place but anythingthe developer who has taken on thisproject does has to be done according to thelaw," said Prasad Panvalkar. "They don'twant to rehouse us on the same plot but wantus to go away permanently."

Small businessman Panvalkar, 51, lives inthe south Mumbai property with his wife,Smita, also 51, son Akshay, 20, and 50-yearoldbrother-in-law Atul Rao. The flat, whichbelongs to Rao, has been in the family's possessionsince the block was built in 1929. Hesaid he refused to be pressured into leavingand that he was legally entitled to be temporarilyhoused and offered a flat in the newdevelopment.

The Mumbai project -- dubbed "TrumpTower, Mumbai" in the local press -- is onprime real estate near the city's landmarkChowpatty beach and off the sweeping MarineDrive promenade.

IRS offers New 2011 Amnesty for foreign accounts

The IRS is reviving an amnesty programfor people with unreported foreign accounts.The 2011 voluntary disclosure initiative imposessomewhat higher penalties than theprior voluntary disclosure initiative whichended in 2009, but still allows qualifyingparticipants to obtain certainty about avoidingcriminal prosecution.

To qualify, individuals with foreign accountsmust disclose any unreported incomefrom 2003 on and pay all taxes, interest andpenalties due on the understatement. The initiativeis currently set to expire on August 31,2011.

The definition of what constitutes an internationalaccount is quite broad, and includesall accounts over which an individual orbusiness has signature authority. The definitionof who is required to file on behalf ofsuch accounts is quite broad also, often causingthe beneficial owners of accounts legallyowned by another (trusts, business entities,etc.) to be reportable by those beneficialowners.

For taxpayers seeking to participate in theinitiative, the IRS will require the participantto agree with the following terms if the participantotherwise qualifies (i.e., is not currentlyunder an IRS investigation or audit):

1. Payment of a 25% penalty on the highestaggregate annual balance for the unreportedinternational account during calendar years2003 through 2010 (reduced to 12.5% whenthe balance in all international accounts doesnot exceed $75,000 during these years, andreduced to 5% for certain inherited accounts);

2. Payment of any U.S. income tax due onunreported income for an unreported accountduring the calendar years 2003 through2010; and,

3. Payment of a 20% penalty on any U.S.income tax due under number two.

Participants accepted into the initiativemust file amended returns and make anarrangement for payment of all taxes, interest,and penalties on or before August 31,2011. The time frame for determiningwhether to participate and arranging for theappropriate filing and payments is fairlyshort and requires timely action.

It is also important to note that Taxpayersaccepted into the initiative must also agreeto surrender certain defenses in order to participatein the initiative. The surrender ofthese defenses could result in a significantreduction in the above monetary penalties.

The decision regarding whether to participatein the voluntary disclosure initiative dependson a participant's facts andcircumstances as well as the participant'srisk tolerance with the IRS. Other unpublicizedprocedures are available to reducecriminal exposure yet retain any defensesyou may be entitled to; however, such proceduresdo not provide the same level of certaintythat can be obtained from participatingin the initiative.

The disclosure initiative, with its reducedpenalty framework, is unlikely to be offeredagain in the near future. Disclosure to theIRS involves a number of strategic decisionsthat can have broad implications. Disclosureshould not be undertaken without qualifiedprofessional assistance.

GoAir to buy 72A320s from Airbus

Jeh Wadia, MD, GoAir

GoAir firmed up its order for 72 of EADSsubsidiary Airbus's single aisle A320 NEOsat the Paris Airshow on June 23, 2011, makingIndia the single largest buyer of the aircraft.

The $6.6-billion order comes a day afterIndiGo confirmed that it would be purchasing150 of the new engine option version ofthe short-haul plane, at list price, along with30 A320s. This takes India's orders to 222 oralmost a third of the total global orders orcommitments for the aircraft to date.The A320 NEO has been one of the bigsuccess stories of this year's Paris Airshowraking in a large numbers of orders fromacross the world as demand for more fuel-efficient,short haul planes grows in responseto spiraling fuel costs.

Airbus says the new engine option "providedeither by CFM International, or UnitedTechnologies subsidiary Pratt and Whitney"

provides around 15 per cent fuel savings.GoAir is yet to select one of these.

Ford Asia chief sayssmall cars on way toChina, India

Ford's Fiesta which is popular in India

The head of Ford Motor Co operations inAsia has said the company will meet its ambitiousgoals for growth in China and Indiaby greatly expanding its product offerings.

Over the next several years, Ford executiveJoe Hinrichs said, the automaker will havemore cars that are smaller than its subcompactFiesta in China and India, which willmean less profit per vehicle.However, Hinrichs said Ford will makemoney by selling a high volume of thesesmaller cars. The auto company now hasonly one car, the Fiesta, which fits into thismajor portion of the Chinese market. Fordhas market share of about 2.6 to 2.7 percentin both China and India.

High oil pricesmajor risk for globalrecovery

High crude prices may derail growth inChina and India, the two economies thathelped the world overcome financial crisis,the International Energy Agency has said.Asian countries led by China and India aretightening monetary policies to battle a surgein inflation, partly caused by high oil prices.Brent crude has peaked at just above $127a barrel so far this year; a level which analystshave said could hurt oil demand.

"High oil prices are a significant risk to derailingthe economic recovery not only in theOECD countries, but also in China andIndia," the IEA's Chief Economist FatihBirol said.

"China and India are two most importanteconomies which helped us get out of theeconomic crisis. If they go for tightening ofmonetary policies, this may lead to a slowdownin their economies which is bad newsfor all of us."

Electronics industryin India to exceed$150 billion

A study by the Export-Import Bank ofIndia (Exim Bank) has estimated the size ofthe electronics industry in India to exceed$150 billion by 2015.

Exports of electronic goods are expectedto touch $15 billion by 2013-14, said a newsrelease from Exim Bank, quoting an estimateby the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.The share of electronics production inIndia's GDP has increased from 1.6 per centin 2001-02 to 1.95 per cent in 2009-2010.This has been due to the high rate of growthof the Indian economy, increasing disposableincome and demand from the youth market.

In order to grow, this industry needs to designand manufacture "global" products tosuit both domestic and global markets. Companiesshould also invent mass products andprice them in such a way that they reach eventhe rural areas of the country, said the study.

Apple fails to makecut of influentialfirms in India

Apple logo

Apple has failed to make the list of India'smost highly rated companies voted on by thecountry's business leaders, raising freshquestions about the company's strategy inone of the fastest-growing technology marketsin the world.

Indian company directors, governmentministers, charity leaders and newspaper editorswere asked to identify companies theybelieved to be "thought leaders," defined asbusinesses that change the attitudes and behaviorof customers, employees or otherstakeholders.

A list of "top 20" companies, ranked accordingto factors such as an ability to pioneernew ideas and communicate clearly, ispeppered with homegrown Indian companiesincluding Tata Group, Mahindra and drugcompany, Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

Infosys Technologies, a technology servicescompany headquartered in Bangalore,claims pole position on the league table; butApple, which tops the same league in Britainand America, failed to make it into the Indiantop 20.

Aside from Apple, other major Westernbrands failed to make the cut of India's top20 companies. Microsoft, which was rankednumber six in both the UK and US, came inat number 37 in India. Toyota was rankednumber 17 in the USA but only hit number39 on India's league table.

However, internet giant Google made itinto the top ten in the US, UK and India,coming in at number two in America andBritain and third in India.

TLG said that Google had adapted to theIndian market by launching special servicesstreaming Indian Premier League cricketmatches and Bollywood music.

As well as Google, social networking websiteFacebook, also made an appearance onthe Indian top 20, coming in at number eight.

[ BY GAURI KUMAR ]