Should India take from the rich, give the poor? A new election flashpoint
Al JazeeraAs 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 debate by arguing that India should debate whether an inheritance tax might help reduce wealth inequality. Modi has responded by accusing the Congress of plotting a wealth and inheritance tax that would snatch away people’s wealth accumulated through hard work. “An inheritance tax will make the whole economic system fairer by redistributing some of the accumulated wealth away from the children of wealthy people,’’ said Basu. “These tax revenues can then be used to finance public education, provide public healthcare and affordable housing, and support mitigation efforts related to the negative effects of climate change, which disproportionately impacts the poor.’’ Syracuse University’s Mitra said that while an inheritance tax might make some economic sense, he sees “enormous scope for corruption, stemming from the subjectivity in the valuation of inheritances and the unlimited scope in misreporting the actual value of inheritances”.
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
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Inheritance tax: An economic blunder
New Indian Express
Economist Gautam Sen on inheritance tax: Unrealistic, will unleash economic chaos
Hindustan Times
Make the poor richer without making the rich poorer
The Hindu
Inheritance Tax, Wealth Redistribution Will Push India Away From Growth Path
News 18
Mint Primer | Redistribution: Can it benefit India’s poor?
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Why are India’s poorest people being left behind?
Al Jazeera)
India's richest 1 per cent own more than 40 per cent of total wealth: Oxfam
Firstpost
The relevance of a hypothesis on inequality caused by selfishness
Live Mint
What should the government do to address deepening inequality?
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