Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement of providing a tax exemption to up to ₹12 lakh came as a much needed respite for the Indian middle and upper middle class.
Shaadi.com founder and CEO and Shark Tank India judge Anupam Mittal weighed in on the much needed respite for the Indian taxpayers. Mittal said in a LinkedIn post that middle-class professionals have been the country's punching bag for time immemorial.
"For years, middle-class professionals have been India's punching bag. Taxed at every turn, squeezed for every rupee, while the ultra-rich found loopholes and businesses got tax breaks," the Shaadi.com founder wrote.
Looking back at previous Budgets, Mittal said that it would be the middle-class professionals who would get short-changed every time with the government offering them no relief whatsoever.
"Every Budget, same story > Hope builds up. Expectations rise. Then—another “Sorry, no relief for you.” But Budget 2025 has come with a big shift. No income tax up to ₹12.75 lakh under the New Tax Regime. I call this a systemic correction, not just a tax cut (sic)."
Citing examples of post-World War 2 America and China in the 2000s, Anupam Mittal said that strong economies are built on a thriving middle class and not an overburdened one. He added that in India, the governments, however, got it backwards.
"Instead of fueling spending and investment, we kept squeezing our most productive taxpayers—the salaried class. This Budget shifts that. More disposable income = More consumption = More economic growth. You don’t build an economy by making people feel gareeb. You build it by making them wealthier."
₹12 lakh tax break for taxpayers explained
In her eighth Union Budget speech, Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the tax slabs under the new tax regime have been revised.
"The middle class provides strength to the economy. In recognition of their contribution, we have periodically reduced the tax burdens. I am now happy to announce that there will be no income tax up to an income of ₹12 lakh," Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha.
As per the revised structure, individuals with an annual income of upto ₹12 lakh per annum will no longer have to pay any income tax if they choose to go for the new tax regime.
The new tax slabs stand as follows: