Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government of “tax terrorism” and "breaking the back of the middle class" to support “big corporate friends”, PTI reported.
In a message on his WhatsApp channel, Gandhi on August 27 shared a chart which claimed that individual taxpayers in India paid more in combined income tax, compared to companies in corporate tax, it added.
Businessman and Infosys co-founder TV Mohandas Pai also shared a similar chart on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on August 28.
“Individual's income is more than corporate net income, corporates pay higher average rate. Income tax data for AY 23-24 gives full data,” Pai wrote on X.
Pai has been increasingly vocal against the government's tax policies towards the middle and salaried class. Over the past few months he has repeatedly shared issues or voiced his opinion on the same via X and in media interviews.
Gandhi accused the Centre of “tax terrorism” and burdening the middle class at cost of corporate “friends”, PTI reported.
“'Tax terrorism' is a dangerous face of BJP rule — this is the truth. Today, in India, the burden of tax targets has been completely put on the income of the middle class. That middle class whose salary has not increased for years — meaning the income has remained the same and the income tax is increasing wildly,” Gandhi wrote in Hindi.
“In this period of terrible inflation, the middle class, which survives by paying heavy GST on everything, should think — is your income more than that of big corporates or businessmen? Are you getting any special benefits from government facilities? No, right! Then why is this indiscriminate tax being collected from you?” he asked.
“When you are intimidated, your pocket is cut by imposition of their (government's) will, this is the Chakravyuh of ‘tax terrorism’. Modiji is breaking the back of the middle class of India to save and increase the wealth of his ‘friends’,” he alleged, adding that he “stands with all hardworking, honest Indians against this terror and injustice”.
Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on August 21 said the income tax (I-T) department has processed close to 4.98 crore income tax returns (ITRs) for AY 2024-25 in 15 days.
Over 7.28 crore income tax returns for Assessment Year 2024-25 were filed till July 31, 2024.
Malhotra said that in the last decade, the direct tax revenues have increased from ₹5.59 lakh crore to ₹20 lakh crore. Also, the tax-to-GDP ratio has increased to 6 per cent from 5.6 per cent over this period.
(With inputs from PTI)
