'India is now effectively tax-free': Shaadi.com's founder and Shark Tank judge Anupam Mittal explains why

India is effectively tax-free now following the revision in tax slabs, according to enterpreneur Anupam Mittal.

Mittal, the founder of Shaadi.com and a judge in reality show Shark Tank, said, "Turns out that almost 90% tax-filers in India have an income below 13 lacs p.a. meaning out of 140 cr people only 1 cr will pay income tax this year effectively making India income-tax free."


His statement came a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced significant income tax cuts in her budget on Saturday.

As per the new slabs, individuals earning up to Rs 12 lakh in a year will not have to pay any taxes after she raised the exemption threshold from Rs 7 lakh. An additional Rs 75,000 standard deduction is available for the salaried class.


She also altered tax slabs for people earning above this threshold to help save up to Rs 1.1 lakh in taxes for those with income up to Rs 25 lakh in a year.

The raising of the rebate leads to 1 crore people not having to pay any tax, she said.

The overall tax slab regig will benefit 6.3 crore people, or more than 80 per cent of taxpayers.

FM Sitharaman went on to explain:

A tax payer in the new regime with an income of Rs 12 lakh will get a benefit of Rs 80,000 in tax (which is 100% of tax payable as per existing rates).
A person having income of Rs 18 lakh will get a benefit of Rs 70,000 in tax (30% of tax payable as per existing rates).
A person with an income of Rs 25 lakh gets a benefit of Rs 1,10,000 (25% of his tax payable as per existing rates).


The following are the revised income tax slabs under the new regime:

Income up to ?4 lakh: NIL
Rs 4 lakh to ?8 lakh: 5%
Rs 8 lakh to ?12 lakh: 10%
Rs 12 lakh to ?16 lakh: 15%
Rs 16 lakh to ?20 lakh: 20%
Rs 20 lakh to ?24 lakh: 25%
Above Rs 24 lakh: 30%

Earlier taking to Linkedin, Mittal hailed the decision as a “systemic correction” rather than just a tax cut, noting that the middle class had long been burdened by excessive taxation while the ultra-rich found ways to exploit loopholes.

Mittal expressed frustration with past Budgets, writing, “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. Every Budget, same s ..