Dear Fellow Citizens,

Our direct tax system is increasingly burdensome and unfair, especially for the salaried middle class. We must demand urgent, phased reforms to ensure a fair and transparent tax system.

The government must address this issue now to avoid an electoral setback, as voters might use NOTA (None of the Above) to protest. Politicians often ignore these concerns once in power, despite their promises.

Here, we are not endorsing NOTA as a solution, but rather considering it as a medium of protest, allowing our protest to get a face in terms of quantified numbers during the electoral process, as no political party considers the salaried class as a vote bank. In this 2024 election, NOTA has garnered 69 Lakh votes, which is 1% of the total vote. The salaried class can make it go up to 5% impacting the result, after which political parties will have no option of ignoring the demands of reforms in Direct Teax by salaried class.

Salaried Middle Class of India: The Victim of Tax Terrorism

• Compounding Direct and Indirect Taxes: The middle class is burdened by both direct taxes (income tax) and indirect taxes (GST), increasing their overall financial strain and cost of living.
• NewTAX Regime replacing Complex Tax Laws: The NEW TAX Regime has certainly simplified direct tax but has also demystified the mindset of the government that up to 7 lakhs you will be taxed minimally while post this range the tax liabilities go up exponentially. Resulting in a Disproportionate Tax Burden on the middle-class taxpayers. Making us feel overburdened and helpless in creating any asset after this much effort.

Risks of Ignoring Reform

• Increasing illegal ways of tax saving
• Increase in cost of tax administration
• Increase in corruption.
• Increase in the parallel economy.
• High inflation
• Increase in Economic inequality

Avoiding tax reforms only reinforces the middle class's belief that corrupt politicians and businessmen are exploiting loopholes to create illegal assets, while the tax burden increasingly shifts to salaried individuals through rising tax slabs.

The Path Forward: Necessary Reforms

• Introduce a flat tax rate over basic income, allowing the middle class to create assets
• Introduce Relevant Cess for individuals with really high income, rather than using CESS as a loophole for exploitation.
  
• Rationalise the indirect tax with basic needs having taxed minimally.
• Ensuring that reforms are introduced in a planned and phased manner is crucial to prevent them from becoming disruptive events that could lead to financial difficulties for the nation.
• The government should incentivise direct taxpayers to reduce the cost of tax administration and increase the tax base rather than increasing the tax rates.

Join the Signature Campaign: A Call to Action

We call on concerned citizens to support our signature campaign for urgent tax reforms. By signing, you advocate for a fairer tax system and urge the government to act immediately. This campaign aims to gather broad support and send a clear message: Reform the direct tax system now or face electoral consequences. The government faces a clear choice: Implement necessary tax reforms or prepare for an electoral setback, potentially marked by increased use of NOTA. The time for action is now. Join the signature campaign today and support the movement for a fairer, more transparent tax system.