News:

• A report of the World Inequality Lab has proposed a tax package for the ultra-wealthy in India including an annual wealth tax and an inheritance tax for those with net wealth exceeding Rs 10 crore accompanied by redistributive policies to support the poor, lower castes, and middle classes. 
  • The World Inequality Lab is a global research center focused on the study of inequality and public policies that promote social, economic and environmental justice. It is based primarily at the Paris School of Economics and the University of Berkeley, California. 
  • Wealth tax was a charge levied on the book or the market value of the personal assets of rich individuals. 
  • Inheritance tax is a levy on assets inherited from a deceased person. In India, there is currently no tax on inheritance.

• The report noted that India’s top 1 per cent income and wealth shares have reached historical highs and are among the very highest in the world.
• The report proposes an annual wealth tax and an inheritance tax for those with net wealth exceeding Rs 10 crore, equivalent to the top 0.04 per cent of the adult population (~370,000 adults), who currently hold over a quarter of the total wealth.
• It suggests raising phenomenally large tax revenues while leaving 99.96 per cent of the adults unaffected by the tax. 
• The report said, a 2 per cent annual tax on net wealth exceeding Rs 10 crore and a 33 per cent inheritance tax on estates exceeding Rs 10 crore in valuation would generate a 2.73 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in revenues.
• This would allow doubling the current public spending on education, which has stagnated at 2.9 per cent of GDP over the past 15 years.
• The tax package needs to be accompanied by redistributive policies to support the poor, lower castes, and middle classes. 

https://indianexpress.com/article/business/tax-package-wealthy-policies-poor-lower-middle-class-report-9349550/