Editorial: British Raj to Billionaire Raj

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is adept at seizing opportunities, particularly during election campaigns. This is how he capitalised on a comment made by Sam Pitroda, one of the Congress's think tanks living abroad. While discussing the need to reduce wealth inequality in India, Pitroda mentioned inheritance tax as an option.

Modi promptly turned it into a slogan to corner the Congress, alleging that the party would plunder the common man not only during his lifetime but also after his death. As reported by this newspaper, inheritance tax is not a federal tax in the US and is only levied in a few states. In India, its equivalent, known as estate duty, was abolished by Rajiv Gandhi during his tenure as prime minister. Among others, the late Arun Jaitley of the BJP advocated for reviving estate duty to boost revenue.

While neither the BJP nor the Congress has proposed introducing inheritance tax, the underlying reason that prompted Pitroda's suggestion cannot be dismissed. India has never been a poor country; in fact, its wealth attracted invaders from Europe and Central Asia. Unfortunately, wealth has long been concentrated in the hands of a few. Even during the British period, this situation remained largely unchanged. The policies pursued by the Congress government immediately after Independence aimed to address inequalities, with socialism being one of its primary objectives. However, with economic liberalisation in the 1990s, the landscape changed dramatically, providing unchecked opportunities for businessmen. Consequently, the billionaires' club has expanded exponentially, while the poor have largely remained stagnant. According to the Paris-based World Inequality Lab's 2022-23 report, inequality has been on the rise in India. Indians today are more unequal than they were during the days of British rule.

The wealthiest 10,000 individuals out of 92 million adults in India have an average wealth of Rs 2260 crore, which is 16,763 times the average Indian's wealth. What holds true for India also holds true for the world. The top 10% of the world's population owns nearly three-fourths of the world's wealth, while half the world's population has no wealth at all. As the Paris Lab pointed out, imposing a super tax of 2% on the net wealth of the 167 wealthiest families in India in 2022-23 would have generated 0.5% of national revenue income. Undoubtedly, the potential is immense. In no case should inequality be allowed to persist.