ForumIAS announcing GS Foundation Program for UPSC CSE 2025-26 from 19 April. Click Here for more information.
Source: The post challenges of implementing a wealth tax has been created, based on the article “Piketty’s wealth tax: An idea that just can’t work” published in “Live mints” on 28th March 2024.
UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 3 – Indian Economy – Inclusive growth and issues
News: This article discusses the rise in billionaires in India and the debate about introducing a wealth tax. It argues that while a wealth tax might seem fair, it’s difficult to implement and could have negative effects on the economy. Challenges of implementing a wealth tax
What is the current status of wealth inequality in India?
Increase in Billionaires: India has seen a rise in billionaires, with 94 new additions, reaching a total of 271.
Comparison with Other Countries: This growth is higher than in China, which added 55 billionaires, now totaling 814.
Global Billionaire Rankings: India’s total number of billionaires is significantly less than China and the US.
Wealth Disparity Concerns: A study by Thomas Piketty highlights extreme wealth disparity in India, indicating the richest 1% hold a disproportionately large share of wealth.
What does Thomas Piketty’s research suggest?
Wealth Inequality in India: Piketty’s research, specifically his paper “Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023,” focuses on the growing wealth gap in India.
Top 1% Holding More Wealth: The study highlights that India’s top 1% hold a large and increasing share of the nation’s wealth, is at a historically high level.
Wealth Growth Outpacing Income: Piketty notes that when the return on capital surpasses general income growth, it disproportionately benefits the wealthy, leading to a wider wealth gap.
What are the challenges of implementing a wealth tax?
Difficulty in Fair Assessment: Assessing and taxing wealth is complex, particularly with diverse assets like real estate and cryptocurrencies.
Liquidity Problems: A wealth tax could unfairly burden people with illiquid assets, like a home, which might need to be sold under distress to pay taxes.
Visibility of Assets: Visible assets, especially stocks, are easier to tax, but this could unfairly target certain forms of wealth.
Economic Impact: A wealth tax might discourage businesses from going public and could lead to capital flight to lower-tax countries.
Inefficiency in Capital Allocation: Such a tax could make capital allocation less transparent and efficient, adversely affecting the economy.
Question for practice:
Examine the potential economic impact of implementing a wealth tax in India, given its rising billionaire count and wealth disparity issues.
