G. Ramakrishnan with his family.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
G. Ramakrishnan, marketing professional
Annual income: ₹22 lakh
Number of family members: 6
G. Ramakrishnan, 58, of Chennai said middle-class tax payers such as him had hoped to see a revision in the income tax slabs amid rapidly rising prices. “The income isn’t growing for middle-class taxpayers and salaried individuals at the same rate as inflation. Be it essential goods such as cooking oil, rice, or other groceries or healthcare or fuel, all the prices are consistently increasing. If they had at least marginally increased the standard deduction limit, it would have been helpful,” he said.
Those employed and retired from private firms mostly end up with a paltry sum as pension, which is barely enough to cover their expenditures, and they end up depending on the returns from their fixed deposits or other such measures, Mr. Ramakrishnan said. It may have been significantly beneficial if there were specific announcements regarding fresh tax concessions for senior citizens, he added.
I’m going to retire in a few years and already think about medical inflation. It is good to see that some of rare disease and cancer medicines will be made affordable owing to customs duty exemptions, we need more targeted measures. “Despite paying a hefty tax, if I don’t see any relief measures to tackle healthcare expenses, it will be a struggle,” he added.
Published – February 01, 2026 11:36 pm IST
