Corporate tax cut put Rs 2 lakh crore in pockets of billionaires: Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday alleged that the Modi government has put over Rs 2 lakh crore in the pockets of billionaires due to corporate tax cut, while the middle class continues to bear a heavy tax burden.

The opposition party has launched this attack on the government a day after Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) data showed net direct tax collection of Rs 5,74,357 crore till July 11, 2024, which includes corporate income tax of Rs 2,10,274 crore and personal income tax of Rs 3,46,036 crore, excluding refunds.

Congress General Secretary and Communication Incharge Jairam Ramesh said, "The budget date is slowly approaching, it is to be presented on July 23. The data released shows that during April 1 to July 1, 2024, gross personal income tax collection was Rs 3.61 lakh crore, while gross corporate tax collection was Rs 2.65 lakh crore. He said, "This reaffirms what we have been saying continuously - people are paying more tax than companies."

Ramesh said, "When Dr. Manmohan Singh left the post as Prime Minister, personal income tax was 21 percent of the total tax collection, while corporate tax was 35 percent. Today, the share of corporate tax in total tax collection has fallen sharply to a decade's lowest level of just 26 percent." He said that meanwhile the share of personal income tax in total tax collection has increased to 28 percent.

The Congress leader said that on September 20, 2019, corporate tax was cut with the hope that it would boost private investment. But this has not happened. Instead, private investment has fallen from a high of 35 per cent of GDP during Dr Manmohan Singh's tenure to less than 29 per cent during 2014-24. He said that the corporate tax cut has put Rs 2 lakh crore in the pockets of billionaires, while the middle class is bearing a heavy tax burden.

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