With the Union Budget set to be presented on February 1, a fresh appeal has been made to introduce a joint tax system in India. Rajesh Jain, a senior office bearer of the Agarwal Vaishya Samaj in Haryana and a well-known industrialist, has written to the Finance Minister with this request. He has shared his views through emails and social media, asking for a change that he believes can reduce the tax burden on many Indian families.
Rajesh Jain has requested the government to consider introducing joint taxation for married couples in the upcoming budget. According to him, this step can bring major relief to middle-class families, especially those where only one person earns or where there is a big income gap between husband and wife. He believes that the current tax system does not treat all families equally and needs reform.
At present, India follows an individual taxation system. This means that even after marriage, both husband and wife are treated as separate taxpayers. Each person has to file a separate income tax return, and tax is calculated individually based on personal income. While this system works well for families where both partners earn similar incomes, it can be unfair for families with a single earning member.
Rajesh Jain explained the structure of the new tax system to highlight his concern. Under the current rules, income up to ₹4 lakh is not taxed at all. Income between ₹4 lakh and ₹8 lakh is taxed at 5 per cent. Income from ₹8 lakh to ₹12 lakh is taxed at 10 per cent. For income between ₹12 lakh and ₹16 lakh, the tax rate is 15 per cent. Income between ₹16 lakh and ₹20 lakh attracts 20 per cent tax, while income from ₹20 lakh to ₹24 lakh is taxed at 25 per cent. Any income above ₹24 lakh is taxed at the highest rate of 30 per cent.
He also pointed out the benefit of Section 87A of the Income Tax Act. Under this section, if a person’s total taxable income is up to ₹12 lakh, the entire tax amount becomes zero due to a rebate. This means that in the new tax system, income up to ₹12 lakh is effectively tax-free.
Rajesh Jain said this system is helpful for individual taxpayers, but it does not consider family income as a whole. In a household where both husband and wife earn, each can enjoy tax-free income up to ₹12 lakh separately. This allows such families to save more tax overall.
However, the problem arises for families with only one earning member. In such cases, the entire household income is taxed in the hands of one person. This often pushes the income into higher tax slabs, increasing the tax burden. As a result, single-income families end up paying more tax compared to families where both spouses earn, even if the total family income is similar.
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Rajesh Jain believes that a joint taxation system can solve this imbalance. Under joint taxation, a married couple’s income is combined and taxed together by filing a single tax return. This allows income to be spread across tax slabs more evenly, reducing the overall tax burden for families with unequal incomes.
He explained that joint taxation is already practiced in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. In these countries, married couples have the option to file joint tax returns. This system recognises the family as a single economic unit rather than treating individuals separately after marriage.
According to Jain, introducing a joint family income tax return in India would support middle-class households. It would be especially beneficial for families where one spouse stays at home to manage the household, care for children, or support elderly parents. Such contributions are important but do not generate taxable income, and the current system does not acknowledge this reality.
He also stressed that joint taxation would promote fairness in the tax system. It would ensure that families with similar total incomes pay similar amounts of tax, regardless of how income is distributed between spouses. This, he believes, would bring more balance and justice to personal taxation.
Rajesh Jain urged the Finance Minister to seriously consider this proposal in the upcoming budget. He said that a joint taxation option does not need to replace the existing system completely. Instead, couples could be given a choice between individual and joint filing, allowing them to select what works best for them.
In his appeal, Jain highlighted that rising costs of living, education, healthcare, and housing have already put pressure on middle-class families. A joint tax system could offer meaningful relief without causing major disruption to government revenue.
As the country looks forward to the Union Budget, such suggestions reflect growing demands for a more family-friendly tax structure. Whether the government will act on this appeal remains to be seen, but the call for joint taxation has added an important dimension to the budget discussion.
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