Another video goes viral-Mumbai Bhelpuri wala

Another reel of mine has gone viral, amassing close to 3 million views. Previous reels that got 3 million views are detailed here and here.

This reel I had posted December first week in Mumbai. It is about a bhelpuri wala in Mumbai, who has been working hard for 40 years running several roadside stalls, earning well, saving most of it and even owning luxury cars like XUV700 or Mercedes Benz.

Watch the reel below [Watch on Instagram]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shrinidhi Hande (@enidhi)

Several reports have come up recently- Dosa maker earning 6 lakhs per month, chaiwala buying property in Dubai and so on. The crux of the matter is government's inability to widen the base of tax payers. vendors who run roadside shops do their business mostly in cash, do not pay any GST and obviously do not declare any income to pay income tax. Many of them earn several thousands each day but unlike a salaried person, pay zero tax.

Simple math:

Panipuri wala: 30 INR per plate * 300 plates a day (4 PM to 10 PM)= 9000 INR income per day, assuming 25% of it for the materials (Aloo, onion etc), daily earning is more than 6000 INR

Dosa wala: At 60 INR per plate, 250 plates between 5 PM to 9 PM, revenue=15000 per day. Even at 50% margin, earning is 7500 per day, way more than even project managers in IT companies.

These vendors also do not show off their wealth like salaried folks. They don't buy iPhone on EMI or buy branded merchandise to show off. They cleverly invest back to grow their business and within few decades they would have several branches, property and other assets. While salaried person pays 35% in income tax upfront and another 28% in GST, these folks occupy public roads, do their business, earn very well but do not contribute to tax. Even the Government has not made any effort to bring these businessmen into tax net. Govt officials are happy to pocket some bribe once a while and let them run their business without any hindrance.

The reel connected with millions of salaried folks who felt being unnecessarily squeezed by Govt. Many of them agreed with the context that tax net need to be widened. A few said these folks work very hard- so do salaried people.

The reel is also gets mentioned in Hindustan Times Kannada website here

Let me know what you think.