Taxation in India

 Why It Feels Like We're Always Paying for Breathing!

If you've ever looked at your salary slip and thought, “Where did all my money go?”—welcome to the club. You're not alone. Every

Indian who earns, spends, saves, or even dreams of buying a house ends up tangled in the same web: TAXES.

Let’s talk about it—like two friends over chai.

The Tax Maze We Live In

India’s tax system is like an overcomplicated Netflix plot. We’ve got:

Direct Taxes (like Income Tax)

Indirect Taxes (like GST)

Property Tax, Toll Tax, Road Tax, Swachh Bharat Cess, and even tax on your dreams (okay, that one's emotional, not real... yet).

Now, don’t get me wrong. Taxes are important. They fund our roads, schools, hospitals, defense, and more. But the problem is in the execution. Or as we say in desi terms, “kaagzi karwaai mein jaan nikal jaati hai.”

Daily Tax Woes: Real Talk

1. The Salary Slip Slap You get your salary, you see that big number—woohoo! Then reality hits: PF, TDS, professional tax. By the time you reach “net pay,” your happiness level has dropped faster than the Sensex on a bad day.

2. GST: The Everywhere Tax Buy a biscuit packet? GST. Book a cab? GST. Go to a restaurant? GST. Order food online? GST. Honestly, it feels like if you breathe in an AC room, the government might start charging Oxygen Tax with GST 18%.

3. Freelancers and Small Businesses = Stress Factory If you’re a freelancer, every payment comes with this confusion: “Should I add GST? Do I need to register? What if the client deducts TDS?”

By the time you understand it all, the financial year is over, and you’re already late filing your return.

4. Return Filing = Modern Torture Filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) should be a simple, proud citizen moment. Instead, it becomes a horror story. One mistake and boom—notice from the IT department.

CA ka number dial karo, panic mode ON.

5. Where’s the Benefit? After paying taxes all year round, what do we get?

Potholes in metro cities, traffic jams on flyovers, and power cuts in summer. And don’t even get me started on government hospitals or public transport.

Why It Hurts More

We don’t mind paying taxes if we see the results. But when the tax system feels like a money-eating blackhole, it becomes frustrating. Transparency is low, loopholes help the rich avoid taxes, and the middle class is stuck in the middle—again.

A Little Hope?

The government has made efforts: New Tax Regimes, Digital ITR filing, and GST streamlining. But we’re not there yet. What we need is:

Simpler tax slabs

Transparent usage of tax money

Less paperwork, more automation

Financial education in schools (why did we learn trigonometry but not taxes?)

Final Thought

At the end of the day, we’re all trying to make an honest living. Paying taxes shouldn’t feel like punishment—it should feel like contribution. But for that, the system has to treat us like partners, not suspects.

Till then, I’ll keep checking my salary slip and whispering to myself, “Ye sab kaat ke milta kya hai?”