Inheritance tax: An economic blunder
7 months, 1 week ago

Inheritance tax: An economic blunder

New Indian Express  

This has also been protested by small businesses and farmer’s unions, such as the National Farmers Union, that has been advocating for the simplification of the estate tax. Impact on Entrepreneurship and Wealth Acquisition in India The concept of inheritance tax would be suicidal for a country like India, as there is already certain amount of discontent amongst the honest taxpayers that they do not get any significant benefits like some of the western countries and further they rarely use the facilities provided by the Government; in effect indicating that tax collected from them is used for benefits and schemes for other segments of the society. Now coming to the wealthier sections of the society; if “inheritance tax” is thrust on them, it is certainly going to deter their entrepreneurial spirits; investments and we would certainly be headed for a capital flight and loss of smart and skilled talent as they might seek to relocate to other jurisdictions to secure and manage their wealth better. The other concern with “inheritance taxes” would further be non-declaration of wealth, evasion of taxes and ultimately the introduction of a parallel economy in the country. Way forward & Conclusion In a fast developing economy like India, where infrastructure and social security systems are still evolving, incentivizing private investment and entrepreneurship should take precedence over imposing additional taxes on wealth transfer.

India Economy Tax Wealth Inheritance Inheritance Tax Economic Blunder  india  taxes  inheritance  way  sections  economy  tax  wealth  economic  blunder  society  corporate

History of this topic

‘India must impose more taxes on super-rich’: Economist Thomas Piketty as top 1% hold over 40% of nation’s wealth
1 week, 2 days ago

‘India must impose more taxes on super-rich’: Economist Thomas Piketty as top 1% hold over 40% of nation’s wealth

Live Mint  

NEW DELHI - India should do more to tax its super-rich given its high levels of inequality, French economist and author Thomas Piketty said on Friday. "India should be active in taxing the rich," Piketty said at an event organised by Delhi-based think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries and the Delhi School of Economics. He said India …

Why farmers are fretting across the world
1 month ago

Why farmers are fretting across the world

Hindustan Times  

They come in long convoys of tractors, sometimes with months of food supplies with them, to stage protests. In London, hundreds of farmers stormed Britain’s heart of government, Whitehall, this week, protesting a proposed 20% inheritance tax they say will be a stab in their backs. Studies have shown that Indian farmers are “net taxed” or implicitly taxed due to …

Farmers exaggerating impact of inheritance tax raid on land, Environment Secretary suggests
1 month, 1 week ago

Farmers exaggerating impact of inheritance tax raid on land, Environment Secretary suggests

The Telegraph  

Sir Keir Starmer also said the “vast majority” of farmers would be unaffected by the changes. “The vast majority of farmers will be unaffected by the changes in the Budget not least because if there’s a married couple the relief is £3 million and that’s why the vast majority of farmers will not be affected at all.” Atkins: ‘Farmers are …

My 250-acre farm has been in our family for four generations, but we now face a £400,000 inheritance tax bill and may be forced to give it up... this is the final nail in the coffin
1 month, 2 weeks ago

My 250-acre farm has been in our family for four generations, but we now face a £400,000 inheritance tax bill and may be forced to give it up... this is the final nail in the coffin

Daily Mail  

Struggling farmers have accused Labour of 'lying' and said inheritance tax changes are the 'final nail in the coffin' as they react angrily to Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget. Andrew Smith, 56, said the move to introduce a 20 percent inheritance levy on farm assets above £1 million marks a 'betrayal' by the Labour government Mr Smith said the new …

Labour considering inheritance tax raid to ‘redistribute’ wealth
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Labour considering inheritance tax raid to ‘redistribute’ wealth

The Telegraph  

The number of estates subject to inheritance tax is projected to increase by 50 per cent in the next five years, as the thresholds at which the tax is payable have been frozen while house prices continue to rise. The Telegraph has previously reported that, at the same meeting, he was recorded saying that Labour’s green energy plans would cost …

Economist Gautam Sen on inheritance tax: Unrealistic, will unleash economic chaos
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Economist Gautam Sen on inheritance tax: Unrealistic, will unleash economic chaos

Hindustan Times  

Economist Gautam Sen called the idea of inheritance tax unrealistic while terming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's proposal of a “wealth survey” as impractical. Surveying all households and business for wealth redistribution would lead to economic chaos, the economist told news agency ANI after Rahul Gandhi's comments on “wealth redistribution” and Congress party’s poll promise of a socio-economic census stoked a …

Should India take from the rich, give the poor? A new election flashpoint
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Should India take from the rich, give the poor? A new election flashpoint

Al Jazeera  

As India enters the second half of its giant election, wealth distribution has emerged as a central campaign faultline — and a battering ram for PM Modi to target the opposition. In an April 24 television interview, Sam Pitroda, an adviser to the Nehru-Gandhi family and head of the overseas wing of the Congress party, added another twist to the …

An inheritance tax will help reduce inequality
7 months, 2 weeks ago

An inheritance tax will help reduce inequality

The Hindu  

A remark by Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda on implementing an inheritance tax as a tool of wealth redistribution has sparked massive debates. An inheritance tax differs from a wealth tax in two ways: it is intergenerational and levied once in a lifetime. A variant of the inheritance tax, called estates duty, was levied in India between 1953-1985 …

Sanjeev Ahluwalia | Will ‘Robin Hood’ taxes be the answer for India?
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Sanjeev Ahluwalia | Will ‘Robin Hood’ taxes be the answer for India?

Deccan Chronicle  

Behind the din of whether the Congress Party is likely, as alleged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to tax wealth and inheritance if it comes to power, lies the stratagem of signalling to the top 10 per cent of Indians, whose share in the national income surged from 45 per cent in 1981 to 64.6 per cent by 2023, that …

The case for inheritance tax: Combating inequality and promoting social mobility
7 months, 3 weeks ago

The case for inheritance tax: Combating inequality and promoting social mobility

The Hindu  

Published : Apr 30, 2024 19:22 IST - 10 MINS READ A feature of the ongoing election to the 18th Lok Sabha is an extraordinarily communal campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If the top inheritance tax rates in the US and the UK were about 20 per cent in the 1930s, they were raised to 70-80 per cent …

Inheritance Tax, Wealth Redistribution Will Push India Away From Growth Path
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Inheritance Tax, Wealth Redistribution Will Push India Away From Growth Path

News 18  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paused in the midst of his hectic campaigning to give a comprehensive TV interview to News18. In another interview given to a national daily, Prime Minister Modi called the idea of redistribution of wealth “a clear example of Maoist thinking and ideology” and a “sinister plan” which was “a recipe for disaster”. Prime Minister Modi also …

Mint Primer | Redistribution: Can it benefit India’s poor?
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Mint Primer | Redistribution: Can it benefit India’s poor?

Live Mint  

Theoretically, redistribution of wealth is a good way to bring down economic inequality. Bharatiya Janata Party has portrayed this idea as an attempt by the Congress Party to grab people’s wealth and redistribute it, especially to minorities. According to a study published by The World Inequality Lab, richest 1% of Indians now own as much as 40% of the country’s …

Pavan K. Varma | Our inequality is inherited, curable only by solid policy
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Pavan K. Varma | Our inequality is inherited, curable only by solid policy

Deccan Chronicle  

Sam Pitroda’s comments on inheritance tax were unwarranted and unnecessary, and the BJP is, predictably, using it to maximum advantage. The middle class takes pride that India has today the third largest number of dollar billionaires in the world, but it overlooks the fact that about 60 per cent of our population — or roughly one billion people — lives …

Inheritance tax could nullify India's decade of progress, says Nirmala Sitharaman
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Inheritance tax could nullify India's decade of progress, says Nirmala Sitharaman

The Hindu  

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday, April 26, 2024, cast her vote at a polling booth in Bengaluru’s BEs college. They want to see PM Modi continue his term.” Ms. Sitharaman also criticised the Congress for advocating an inheritance tax like law, stating that it could nullify India's progress over the last decade. Ms. Sitharaman also said that the …

Inheritance tax row: Nirmala Sitharaman warns India ‘will go back to era when Congress imposed…’
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Inheritance tax row: Nirmala Sitharaman warns India ‘will go back to era when Congress imposed…’

Live Mint  

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said India's progress in the last ten years will go to “zero” if inheritance tax is implemented and the country will go back to the era when Congress imposed a 90% tax. The senior BJP leader stated that the inheritance tax directly hits the middle and aspirational classes as their hard work is …

Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath backs inheritance tax? Old video goes viral: Watch
7 months, 4 weeks ago

Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath backs inheritance tax? Old video goes viral: Watch

Hindustan Times  

Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath backed inheritance tax as he reflected on the need for wealth redistribution when assets are passed down from one generation to the next in an old video which was widely shared on social media. Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath advocated for inheritance tax as a means of wealth redistribution. There is plenty of precedence to inheritance tax.” Watch …

Ashneer Grover says ’taxpayers are minority in elections’ amid inheritance tax row: ‘You can get away saying…’
7 months, 4 weeks ago

Ashneer Grover says ’taxpayers are minority in elections’ amid inheritance tax row: ‘You can get away saying…’

Live Mint  

Taxpayers are the most ‘meaningless minority’ as far as general elections are concerned and political leaders can say anything on tax in a political rally and get away with it, according to Ashneer Grover. The former managing director of fintech major BharatPe has said if one tries to understand ‘tax politics in India’, only 0.5 per cent of voters now …

Sam Pitroda’s ‘Inheritance’ Of Loss For Congress: Tax Worry May Hurt Lok Sabha Poll Prospects
7 months, 4 weeks ago

Sam Pitroda’s ‘Inheritance’ Of Loss For Congress: Tax Worry May Hurt Lok Sabha Poll Prospects

News 18  

The Congress has inherited a problem. And it’s the problem of gaffes from Indian Overseas Congress head Sam Pitroda, who stoked a controversy early Wednesday morning when he said that the United States has a concept of inheritance tax, which means 55% of the wealth is handed over to the government and not the children. 50%, besides all the tax …

A pledge to abolish inheritance tax would be an irresponsible measure
1 year, 5 months ago

A pledge to abolish inheritance tax would be an irresponsible measure

The Independent  

Inheritance tax is the Conservatives’ “smash glass in case of emergency” button. That the prime minister is thinking about a promise to abolish inheritance tax for his election manifesto is a measure of his desperation. Mr Sunak would appear to be similarly spooked by Labour’s electoral prospects, but there is no guarantee that a promise to cut or abolish inheritance …

Why are India’s poorest people being left behind?
1 year, 10 months ago

Why are India’s poorest people being left behind?

Al Jazeera  

On Tuesday, February 7 at 19:30 GMT: India’s BJP-led government says its final budget before a general election in 2024 will spur economic growth, but opposition politicians are among critics who say it fails to address ever-deepening income and wealth inequality highlighted by anti-poverty groups. But it does not include the re-introduction of a wealth tax on the rich that …

Institute for Fiscal Studies says rising inheritance will hit social mobility. What’s the solution?
3 years, 7 months ago

Institute for Fiscal Studies says rising inheritance will hit social mobility. What’s the solution?

The Independent  

It would be wonderful if all men and women really were created equal, but they’re not. Social mobility is a nice idea in theory, but it’s less common in practice than our leaders like to claim – or did you never wonder why the government front benches are full of plummy-voiced posh boys? Inheritances are projected to increase lifetime incomes …

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