Congress under fire after Sam Pitroda advocates inheritance tax in India for wealth redistribution (WATCH)
The Congress party, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, appears to be considering the reintroduction of inheritance tax in India. Sam Pitroda, Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress, advocated for wealth redistribution through inheritance tax reform during a speech. He contrasted the absence of inheritance tax in India with its implementation in the US
FollowEven as the Congress leaders continue to defend the party's manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party now seems to be advocating to reinvoke inheritance tax in India. One indication of that came from the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, Sam Pitroda who addressed the issue of inheritance tax, advocating for reform to redistribute wealth.
He highlighted the inheritance tax system in America, where a portion of wealth is transferred to the government upon death, emphasizing the fairness of leaving a portion of wealth for the public good. In contrast, Pitroda pointed out the absence of such a tax system in India, where wealth is inherited in full by descendants.Â
"...In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has $100 million worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45% to his children, 55% is grabbed by the government. That's an interesting law. It says you in your generation, made wealth and you are leaving now, you must leave your wealth for the public, not all of it, half of it, which to me sounds fair. In India, you don't have that. If somebody is worth 10 billion and he dies, his children get 10 billion and the public gets nothing...So these are the kind of issues people will have to debate and discuss," Pitroda said.
"I don't know what the conclusion would be at the end of the day but when we talk about redistributing wealth, we are talking about new policies and new programs that are in the interest of the people and not in the interest of super-rich only," he added.
He emphasized the need for debate and discussion on policies that benefit the public rather than just the super-rich. However, Pitroda's thoughts met with criticism on social media, nit just from the BJP but also from users. Take a look:
