Income tax slabs and rates for FY 2026-27 remain untouched. The standard deduction stays frozen at 275,000, a figure increasingly misaligned with the realities of middle-class life. In urban India, housing, education, healthcare and commuting now absorb a far larger share of income than this deduction acknowledges.

Budget 2026 chooses to ignore ‘Tax policy continues to favour enterprise over earnings. Businesses deduct rent, interest, depreciation and employee costs before tax, while salaried incomes are taxed without recognising the unavoidable costs of living. Budget 2026 entrenches this imbalance by reaffirming a low-rate, low-deduction structure where relief is treated as a concession rather than a right.

Expectations of a higher rebate threshold were set aside. What remains is an incremental adjustment without structural intent. The budget also ignores the citizen's life cycle. The middle classis paying for children’s education, supporting ageing parents, and self-funding retirement in a country with limited social........

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