In 2025, the Indian middle class continues to carry the heaviest burden of the Indian tax system corruption. We pay nearly 30% of our salary as income tax, face up to 50% tax on vehicles, 18% GST on car insurance, pay a hefty state road tax, and then fuel our vehicles with petrol and diesel taxed at nearly 60%. After all this, what do we get in return?
During the rainy season, we are forced to wade through sewage-filled roads, broken footpaths, and dangerous potholes. The question every taxpayer is asking: Where is our tax money going?
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🚗 How Much Tax Do Indians Really Pay?
Let’s break down the taxes(Tax system )paid by an average middle-class Indian:
- Income Tax: Up to 30% of gross salary.
- Vehicle Purchase: 28% GST + 15% Cess (for larger cars) = 30%–50% total tax.
- Car Insurance: 18% GST on premium.
- Road Tax: Varies by state – 8% to 15% of vehicle cost.
- Fuel: Petrol and diesel prices include Excise Duty, VAT, and Cess — over 55% to 60% of the fuel price is tax.
👉 Example:
If you buy a ₹10 lakh car in 2025:
- You pay ₹3.5 to ₹4.5 lakh in tax.
- Insurance: ₹15,000–₹25,000 + 18% GST.
- Fuel: ₹110 per litre, out of which ~₹66 is just tax!
Still, when you take that car on Indian roads — you’re often greeted by potholes, waterlogging, open manholes, and garbage piles.
💸 The Reality: Where Is All This Tax Money Going?
India’s government earns massive revenue from taxes(Tax system). In the financial year 2023–24, gross tax revenue was over ₹34 lakh crore. Out of this:
- ₹10 lakh crore came from Income Tax.
- ₹8.5 lakh crore came from Corporate Tax.
- ₹9.5 lakh crore came from GST.
- Excise and customs added another ₹3 lakh crore+.
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🕳️ Poor Infrastructure and Political Apathy
Across cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Guwahati, Patna, and Kolkata:
- Roads collapse every monsoon.
- Sewers overflow and mix with drinking water.
- New flyovers crack within 3 years.
- Rural roads vanish within a year of construction.
In 2024, a viral video from Bihar showed a newly built ₹12 crore road that started breaking apart just 15 days after inauguration.
In Assam, the locals of Nagaon protested against a ₹4 crore drainage project that was never completed despite full payment being shown in official records.
🤝 The Nexus: Politicians, Contractors, and Officials
Corruption in India’s tax system doesn’t end with collections — it thrives in spending.
📌 Real Case Example – Uttar Pradesh PWD Scam
In 2022–2023, an audit revealed that ₹800 crore worth of road projects had serious irregularities. Roads were shown as “completed” on paper, but on the ground, villagers were still walking on mud paths.
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📌 Assam Bridge Collapse
In 2023, a newly constructed bridge in Goalpara collapsed. Investigation showed that contractors used substandard materials. The MLA involved had links with the contractor’s firm.
📌 BMC Drainage Scam – Mumbai
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation spent over ₹3,000 crore on monsoon preparation in 2022–2024. Still, roads flooded within 3 hours of rain. RTI revealed that 25% of the work never happened, but full payments were made.
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🏗️ How Corruption Works in Public Projects
The corruption chain works like this:
- Tender Process: Politicians or local leaders influence who gets the contract.
- Contractors Under-quote: To win the bid, they promise the lowest cost.
- Low-Quality Work: To make profits, they use cheap materials and bribe officials for fake clearances.
- Completion Certificate: Project is “completed” on paper. Funds are released.
- Public Suffering: The project either never works or fails within a short time.
- All of this is done using our tax money.
🧾 Government Justifications vs Ground Reality
Ministers often say:
- “We are investing in infrastructure.”
- “Projects are ongoing.”
- “Flooding is due to heavy rainfall, not poor drainage.”
But the truth is: even in cities that pay the highest taxes, basic amenities are missing.
Mumbai contributes over 6.3% of India’s total GDP and still floods every year.
Delhi has one of the highest per capita incomes but still deals with overflowing sewers and dangerous flyovers.
⚖️ Accountability? Still Missing(Tax system).
There is no real-time public audit of government infrastructure work.
- CAG audits come after 2 to 3 years.
- RTI replies are often vague or delayed.
- Whistleblowers are threatened or ignored.
The Indian tax system corruption will continue until:
- Public has access to project-wise spending.
- Online real-time dashboards are made mandatory.
- Contractors, engineers, and officials are held criminally liable.
🚨 Public Outrage Is Growing on Tax system
Social media is full of:
- Videos of collapsed roads.
- Waterlogged metros.
- Angry taxpayers asking: “हम टैक्स किसलिए दे रहे हैं?”
A viral tweet in 2024 said:
“I pay 30% tax on salary, 50% on car, 60% on petrol, 18% GST on insurance. In return, I walk in gutter water. This is not taxation. It’s extortion.”
🛣️ The Way Forward – What Can Citizens Do?
- Ask for Transparency: Demand full visibility of infrastructure spending in your area.
- RTI Activism: File RTIs to expose incomplete or ghost projects.
- Use Social Media: Shame corrupt officials and expose fake inaugurations.
- Support Honest Candidates: Don’t vote based on caste or party. Vote based on performance.
- Support Platforms: Like Lokpal, Citizen for Transparency, and media that expose corruption.
🔍 Tax Burden on Middle-Class: A Silent Exploitation
The Indian middle class has become a silent workhorse of the economy. From salaried employees to small business owners, we pay every kind of tax — direct and indirect — without fail. Yet, we get no subsidy, no ration card, and no real benefit from government schemes.
Despite contributing the most to the economy, the middle class remains:
- Underrepresented in politic kis
- Overtaxed
- Ignored in policy-making
In contrast, many large corporations get tax exemptions, enjoy loan write-offs, and are even rescued with bailouts, while a salaried person cannot even claim all his deductions without complicated paperwork.
In 2024, more than 1.2 crore salaried individuals filed taxes in India — yet not even 20% felt their tax money was used for public benefit, according to a survey by LocalCircles.
🌧️ Monsoon Misery: A National Shame
Every monsoon becomes a reality check. Cities flood, roads cave in, schools close, traffic stands still — and this cycle repeats every year.
The worst part? These aren’t remote villages — it’s happening in metro cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Guwahati, and Mumbai.
In Silchar (Assam), flash floods in 2023 damaged thousands of homes. Locals accused the district authorities of diverting drainage project funds. RTI activists later revealed ₹47 crore was sanctioned — but only ₹15 crore worth of visible work had been done.
🗣️ Citizen Voices Are Rising
People have had enough. YouTube channels, Twitter threads, and Instagram reels now regularly expose corrupt officials and contractors.
Hashtags like #TaxPayersVoice, #NoRoadNoVote, and #WhereIsOurMoney trend after every infrastructure collapse.
It’s no longer about party lines — it’s about public accountability. And the taxpayers of 2025 are not silent anymore.
Let this blog be one more voice in the storm, asking the question that truly matters:
👉 Where is our tax money going?
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