Waive off Income Tax levied on medical reimbursement to pensioners

Sir,

After having paid Income Tax throughout our career, now at the twilight of our lives with many health issues, we have been surviving due to the benevolence of some of our past employers who reimburse a part of our actual medical expenses incurred. Sadly, Income Tax is being deducted at source and the balance amount only is reimbursed! We are unable to comprehend why the Government is targeting old, ailing retired senior citizens who are struggling to meet their burgeoning medical expenses and tax their actual medical expenses incurred?

In our opinion, the total tax amount collected from these hapless, old senior citizens, is a pittance for the Government of India but for us it is a matter of survival with the cost of our routine medication spiralling month after month. We do not think any civilised nation which cares for their senior citizens will levy Income Tax on their medical reimbursement ! On the contrary, they actually offer lot of sops and welfare schemes to their senior citizens.

We would, therefore, earnestly request our Prime Minister Narendra Modi to instruct the officials concerned at the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to issue a circular exempting Income Tax on actual medical expenses reimbursed to all the senior citizens by their erstwhile employers at the earliest. This small gesture by the Government will go a long way in helping to meet our routine medical expenses without having to depend on our children.

We are nearly five crore pensioners / senior citizens in India and shall coordinate with our brethren across the country and keenly await your Government’s immediate action to help pensioners and senior citizens.

– K.C. Biddappa, President, Mysore City Pensioners Association, Mysuru, 10.1.2019

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