Congress leader Jairam Ramesh attacked the government on Sunday over the taxation in the country, saying that “the middle class continues to bear the weight of heavy taxation.” He cited data to suggest that “individuals are paying more tax than companies.”
Ramesh’s comments came ahead of the budget presentation scheduled to take place on July 23.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, “…data has just been released that gross personal income tax collections amounted to ₹3.61 lakh crore during April 1-July 1 2024, while gross corporate tax collections were ₹2.65 lakh crore. (sic)”
“This reconfirms and re-establishes the point we have been making for quite some time – that individuals are paying more tax than companies,” the Congress leader added.
As we head towards the Budget on July 23rd, data has just been released that gross personal income tax collections amounted to ₹3.61 lakh crores during April 1-July 1 2024 while gross corporate tax collections were ₹2.65 lakh crores. This reconfirms and re-establishes the…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 14, 2024
Jairam Ramesh went to share data pertaining to the time Manmohan Singh was the prime minister. He claimed, “When Dr. Manmohan Singh left office, personal income tax was 21% of total tax collections, while corporate tax was 35%.”
“Today, the share of corporate taxes out of total tax collection has dropped sharply to its lowest level in a decade, at just 26%. Meanwhile, the share of personal income tax in total tax collection has shot up to 28%,” he added.
Ramesh criticised the 2019 move of the Centre to reduce corporate tax rates and said that it didn’t trigger private investment as was being anticipated, instead private investment has fallen from 35 percent under UPA rule to under 29 percent today.
He said Corporate tax rates were slashed on September 20, 2019, “in the hope that it would trigger a private investment boom. But that has NOT happened.”
“Instead, private investment has collapsed, from a peak of 35% of GDP under Dr. Manmohan Singh, to below 29% during 2014-24,” he added.
“The corporate tax cut has put over Rs. 2 lakh crore in the pockets of billionaires, while the middle class continues to bear the weight of heavy taxation,” Ramesh said.