‘Affluent’ Gujarat ranks low in high-taxpayer list, Jharkhand ahead

Gujarat, often celebrated as one of India’s wealthiest and most industrially advanced states, surprisingly ranks low when it comes to high-income taxpayers, according to the latest income tax statistics.

Jharkhand emerges as the frontrunner in the proportion of high earners, with 20 per cent of its taxpayers reporting annual incomes between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 50 lakh. By contrast, only 7 per cent of Gujarat’s filers fall within this income bracket.

The state does not even figure among the top ten for taxpayers earning between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, a category dominated by Maharashtra, highlighting a significant gap between perceived wealth and declared incomes.

Nationally, the largest segment of taxpayers earns between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 7.5 lakh annually. This group, representing more than half of India’s middle class, indicates that the majority of Indians still operate within a modest income range.

Taxpayers earning above Rs 25 lakh account for only 2.5 per cent of filers, underscoring the relatively small size of the country’s upper-middle-income segment.

Maharashtra leads in absolute numbers, with nearly 1.4 lakh taxpayers declaring incomes between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 50 lakh. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu follow in the ranking.

Karnataka also stands out for its high proportion of ‘lakhpatis’ defined as those earning between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, making up over 20 per cent of its filers.

Gujarat, in contrast, trails behind several states, including Bihar, in this crucial segment of higher earners.

In terms of overall tax filings, Maharashtra tops the list with more than 46 lakh returns submitted. Delhi has the highest proportion of taxpayers relative to its population, at about 3 per cent, while Uttar Pradesh, despite having the second-highest number of returns, has only 1.5 per cent of its population filing taxes.

These figures reveal a nuanced divide within India’s middle class. While states such as Jharkhand and Karnataka demonstrate a stronger presence of higher earners, Gujarat’s low representation in these brackets challenges its image as a high-income state.

Experts suggest this reflects the continued narrowness of upward mobility among Indian taxpayers, with the majority still earning below Rs 7.5 lakh annually despite the country’s overall economic growth.