Message from retirees goes viral on social media to say No to income tax

Ferozepur, November 1, 2017:  With the high inflation, the retirees are planning to initiate a movement to say blanket ‘no’ to the charging of income tax from them.

A message in this regard is viral on the social media giving logics for not charging the income tax from them.

It reads like that the retirees had been paying the income tax during their service period of  30 to 36 years to the government but the retiring benefits including the pension income are for livelihood on account of serving for so many years before superannuation.

The retirees have raised a question as to whether the pension income is taxable or not which has never been moved up earlier as they feel that this is not an income for any service or work.  

The logic given is that this is only a deferred wage by the department to the employee who has served the department.  Thus there is no question of charging of income tax.

Another valid reason quoted is that when the pension of MP, MLAs is not taxable, it is not understood as to why the income of the employees has been brought under taxable.

To make this initiative a strong momentum, a request has been made at the last to pass on the message to  20 friends with request to further pass it on in their groups so that pensioners’ community and civil society could know the factual position.

Dewan Chand Sukhija, a senior member of Pensioners Association and an active social activist as President, Streamline Welfare Society when contacted confirmed the receipt of this message. He said, a message has been passed to so many groups and the issue will be discussed at our next meeting to take up the matter with the appropriate authority.

Another retiree, Ashok Kataria, a retired Sr. Accounts Officer from Markfed who is a non-pensioner too agreed with the initiative of the retirees especially when the income for interests in the banks or post offices, of non-pensioners have been reduced to half from last decade. He said the retirees should be brought out of the ambit of charging of income tax clause.