Professional tax irks salaried class

Ajay Joshi
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, September 5

Having received a cut of Rs 2,000-Rs 2,500 in their salaries this month, the professional tax imposed on the working class of the city has not gone down well with them. Terming it as an “arbitrary tax”, the deduction made by employers from the salary of the employees, the working class said the new tax had pinched the working class. Importantly, for already having a complex and exorbitant tax structure, the professional tax is the topic for heated discussions among the salaried class.

Though the tax was introduced on April 19, last year, most of the workers have received the deductions in their salaries this month. Notably, Rs 200 is being charged every month from the remuneration of every working individual with a taxable income. In addition, the tax is also imposed on people who are running their own businesses. A hue and cry against the new tax had also surfaced last year, and this year too in June, industrialists and small and medium business class groups demanded from city politicians to approach the government to withdraw the tax.

Satish Kumar, a professional working with a private company, who received a cut of Rs 2,200 in his salary said: “Earlier it was GST that burn a hole in our pockets and now, this new tax in the name of development is deepening that hole. Will, we practically get to see the development for which the state government is charging from us,” he asked. Pradeep Kumar, a private bank employee, whose deductions were summed at Rs 2,400, said he was unhappy with this cut in his salary.

“When we are already paying other central and state taxes, why this another tax. Amid the SGST, GST, CGST and other taxes that had already made daily items costlier, shelling out 2,400 annually are completely unfavourable,” he said.

Chartered accountant Rajeev Kumar said he also received similar queries from his clients who were resistant to pay the tax. Tax payers said supposedly, four to five members of each family are tax assesses and each assessee was required to pay Rs 200 per month, which means Rs 2,400 annually. It meant that a family with four members of assesses are shelling out Rs 9,600 annually, which was unfair.

About the tax

Professional tax is levied by various state governments on salaried individuals working in government or non-government entities or who are practising any profession, including chartered accountants, doctors, lawyers, or those who are running some businesses. The tax rates are based on the income slabs set by the respective state governments. However, the maximum professional tax that may be levied by any state has been capped at Rs 2,500.

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