Laid off techie paid ₹92 lakh tax last year, now struggling to find ₹90 lakh yearly job: 'Leaving India soon'

A Reddit post by a person claiming to be a senior engineer at Uber has reignited a familiar debate in India over taxation, job security and the support available to employees during difficult periods.

The engineer claimed that he paid ₹92 lakh in income tax to the Indian government during the previous financial year after reaching what he called a “salary cliff” last year.

He now says he is struggling to find another job, even at a lower position offering a salary of ₹90 lakh a year.

“Being a senior engineer at Uber and hitting the salary cliff last year, I paid a crazy ₹92 lakhs tax to the Indian Government in last FY,” the user wrote.

Engineer says he was laid off while on paternity leave

According to the post, the engineer lost his job while he was away from work on paternity leave.

“Got laid off this year while I was on 4 months of Paternity leave," he wrote.

He also cited Uber's paternity leave policy, claiming that the company provides 18 weeks of official paternity leave. However, the Reddit post alone does not provide enough information to establish the circumstances surrounding his termination.

The engineer said the job loss has come at a particularly difficult time, with a newborn child at home and no family support available to him.

He claimed that these circumstances would make it difficult for him to immediately focus on searching for another job.

Engineer raises concerns over severance tax

The Reddit user said his immediate priority was receiving his severance, which he needs while managing his family responsibilities and delaying his job search.

View full Image

He also criticised the prospect of having to pay tax on the severance amount.

“The Government will again LOOT me through taxing on SEVERANCE as well," he wrote.

His statement, however, reflects his personal understanding of the situation and should not be treated as a definitive description of Indian tax law. The taxability of severance or compensation can vary depending on the nature, structure and terms of the payment and the applicable tax provisions.

Therefore, there is no blanket rule that every severance payment is taxed in the same manner.

Reddit user says India offers limited employee protection

The engineer also argued that workers in India do not receive sufficient protection and contrasted his situation with what he believed might have happened in other countries.

Those comparisons represent his personal views and cannot, based solely on the post, be treated as established conclusions about employment laws in India or elsewhere.

His account nevertheless highlights a concern that many employees in India's technology sector may recognise: even a highly paid job can disappear suddenly, while financial commitments and family expenses continue.

Engineer says he plans to leave India

Towards the end of his post, the engineer said he had decided to move out of India.

“I am leaving India soon and would never want to come back.”

He concluded the post by urging others to reconsider their choices if they believe relocating could provide greater security for their families.

“Learn from my mistakes and leave if you want well for your family.”

(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Livemint has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)

About the Author

For about a decade, Livemint—News Desk has been a credible source for authentic and timely news, and well-researched analysis on national news, business, personal finance, corporates, politics and geopolitics. We bring the latest updates on all the listed companies on BSE and NSE, startups, mutual funds, Union ministries, geopolitics, and untapped human interest stories from around the world, helping our readers to stay informed on the latest developments around the globe. Our Coverage Areas 1. Companies: Comprehensive news and analysis on listed and unlisted companies, corporate announcements, corporate chatter, C-suite, business trends, hiring alerts, layoffs, work-life balance, world's top billionaires and richest and more. 2. Personal finance: Insights into mutual funds, small savings schemes like - PPF, SSY, post office savings scheme, stock to watch, personal loans, credit cards, top bank FDs, real estate, income tax and more. 3. Politics: Comprehensive coverage of general elections, state elections and bypolls, Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, Parliament, PMO, PIB, finance ministry, home ministry, among other union ministries and government departments. 4. National News: From metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and e to untapped stories from rural India, we cover human interest, health, education, crime and courts, and law and order, among other areas of public interest. 5. Economy: In-depth analysis of India's macro and micro-economic indicators like- GDP, inflation, forex, fiscal deficit, current account deficit, interest rate cycle, economic recovery, RBI circulars, indirect taxes, GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy imports, exports and everything that impacts Indian economy. 6. Geopolitics: Well-rounded and deeply researched coverage on US News, Oval Office European Union, Ukraine Russia War, middle-east crisis, royal families and global leaders like - Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping and premiers of other leading economies in the world. Meet the Team 1. Gulam Jeelani, Political Affairs Editor 2. Sugam Singhal, Senior Assistant Editor 3. Chanchal, Assistant Editor 4. Sanchari Ghosh, Chief Content Producer 5. Pratik Prashant Mukane, Chief Content Producer 6. Sayantani Biswas, Chief Content Producer 7. Ravi Hari, Deputy Chief Content Producer 8. Garvit Bhirani, Deputy Chief Content Producer 9. Akriti Anand, Senior Content Producer 10. Jocelyn Felix Fernandes, Senior Content Producer 11. Swastika Das Sharma, Content Producer 12. Mausam Jha, Content Producer 13. Riya R Alex, Trainee Content Producer

Stay updated with the latest Trending, India, World and US news.

HomeNewsTrendsLaid off techie paid ₹92 lakh tax last year, now struggling to find ₹90 lakh yearly job: 'Leaving India soon'