Tax Burden Shift: Middle Class Pays More as Corporate Contributions Drop

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticized the BJP-led Centre for heavy taxation on individuals while benefiting billionaires with tax cuts. He highlighted that personal income tax collections surpassed corporate tax collections, placing a greater burden on the middle class and not triggering the anticipated private investment boom.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh targeted the BJP-led Centre on Sunday over newly released tax collection data, revealing a disparity between personal and corporate tax contributions. According to the data, individuals are paying significantly more tax than companies, with the middle class shouldering the brunt of heavy taxation.

Ramesh took to social media platform X to outline the specifics: from April 1 to July 1, 2024, personal income tax collections stood at Rs 3.61 lakh crores compared to gross corporate tax collections of Rs 2.65 lakh crores. He emphasized that this trend has been ongoing, claiming individuals are increasingly bearing a disproportionate share of the tax burden.

The Congress general secretary pointed out that under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, personal income tax contributed 21% to the total tax collection, while corporate tax was at 35%. He criticized the 2019 corporate tax cuts, arguing they have not led to the anticipated private investment boom; instead, private investment has fallen, enriching billionaires while the middle class suffers under heavy taxation.

(With inputs from agencies.)