Professional Tax is a Tax which is levied by the State on the Income earned by way of profession, trade, calling or employment. This form of tax was first levied in India in the year 1949 and the power to levy Professional Tax has been given to the States by way of Clause (2) of Article 276 of the Constitution of India.
This Tax is levied based on slab rates depending on the Income of the Individual. This Tax is just like Income Tax except for the fact that Income Tax is collected by the Central Govt and Professional Tax is collected by the State Government. When this tax was first introduced in India, the maximum limit on the tax to be collected was Rs. 250. However, this limit was raised from Rs. 250 to Rs. 2500 in the year 1988.
For the past few years, State Governments have been requesting the Parliament to raise this ceiling from Rs. 2500 to Rs. 7500. However, their request has not been accepted and the maximum amount of Professional Tax that can be levied by any State is Rs. 2,500 only.
