# Shehzad Poonawalla calls for scrapping income tax on salaried middle class

2026-08-17T16:51:56+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets

Shehzad Poonawalla, a day before publicly announcing his resignation as a BJP spokesperson, called for scrapping personal income tax for the salaried middle class. In a post on X, he said the middle class earns and pays taxes but gets little in return, citing bad roads, air pollution, toxic water and corruption. He argued that families are forced to rely on private schools and hospitals because public services are inadequate. Businesstoday.in and Livemint both reported his remarks. Poonawalla said he submitted his resignation on July 30, citing pressing financial and personal circumstances. Livemint reports that he told the party he was leaving the system, not the person or ideology, and would continue to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. He thanked senior leaders including Modi, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh. Poonawalla, a former Congress member, joined the BJP in December 2017.

## Coverage

- businesstoday.in <https://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/what-does-the-middle-class-get-shehzad-poonawalla-seeks-scrapping-of-income-tax-for-salaried-indian-549670-2026-08-17?utm_source=rssfeed>
- livemint.com <https://www.livemint.com/news/india/what-do-they-get-back-shehzad-poonawalla-calls-to-scrap-income-tax-for-salaried-middle-class-11786979243458.html>

This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.

Tags: BJP, Income tax, Narendra Modi, Shehzad Poonawalla
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