NEW DELHI: Sam Pitroda, the Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress, has expressed his support for the party’s stance on wealth redistribution and has advocated for the implementation of an inheritance tax law in India.
Drawing inspiration from the American system, Pitroda explained that in the United States, when an individual with substantial wealth passes away, only a portion of their assets can be transferred to their children, while the government claims a significant share.He claimed that adopting a similar approach in India would be fair and beneficial for the public.
“In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has 100 million USD worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45 per cent to his children, 55 per cent 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,” Pitroda said.
“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 kinds of issues people will have to debate and discuss. 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 the super-rich only,” he added.
Pitroda also criticized Prime Minister Modi‘s comments about the Congress manifesto, calling them naive and expressing concerns about the Prime Minister’s understanding of the issue. He highlighted that the Congress party aims to frame policies that promote better wealth distribution, such as implementing a minimum wage to ensure fair compensation for the poor.
He emphasized that the manifesto has nothing to do with the Muslim League and that he feels ashamed of the Prime Minister’s statements.
“This is a policy issue. Congress party would frame a policy through which the wealth distribution would be better. We don’t have a minimum wage (in India). If we come up with a minimum wage in the country saying you must pay so much money to the poor, that’s the distribution of wealth. Today, rich people don’t pay their peons, servants, and home help enough but they spend that money on vacation in Dubai and London…When you talk about the distribution of wealth, it is not that you sit on a chair and say I have this much money and I’ll be distributing it to everybody,” Pitroda said.
“It’s naive to think like that. The PM of a country thinks like that…I have some concerns about his brain,” he said when asked to comment on the Prime Minister’s criticisim of the Congress manifesto.
“I feel sorry for them, I am amazed that they would talk like this, It is a lie. EC. This manifesto has nothing to do with the Muslim league. I am ashamed of my Prime Minister. His team is lying about the manifesto. He is a pathological liar. How can they lie through their teeth and feel comfortable,” Pitroda told ANI.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya slammed Pitroda’s comments, alleging, “Congress has decided to destroy India.”
“Now, Sam Pitroda advocates 50% inheritance tax for wealth redistribution. This means 50% of whatever we build, with all our hard work and enterprise, will be taken away. 50%, besides all the tax we pay, which too will go up, if the Congress prevails,” Malviya said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
(With inputs from agencies)
Drawing inspiration from the American system, Pitroda explained that in the United States, when an individual with substantial wealth passes away, only a portion of their assets can be transferred to their children, while the government claims a significant share.He claimed that adopting a similar approach in India would be fair and beneficial for the public.
“In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has 100 million USD worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45 per cent to his children, 55 per cent 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,” Pitroda said.
“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 kinds of issues people will have to debate and discuss. 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 the super-rich only,” he added.
Pitroda also criticized Prime Minister Modi‘s comments about the Congress manifesto, calling them naive and expressing concerns about the Prime Minister’s understanding of the issue. He highlighted that the Congress party aims to frame policies that promote better wealth distribution, such as implementing a minimum wage to ensure fair compensation for the poor.
He emphasized that the manifesto has nothing to do with the Muslim League and that he feels ashamed of the Prime Minister’s statements.
“This is a policy issue. Congress party would frame a policy through which the wealth distribution would be better. We don’t have a minimum wage (in India). If we come up with a minimum wage in the country saying you must pay so much money to the poor, that’s the distribution of wealth. Today, rich people don’t pay their peons, servants, and home help enough but they spend that money on vacation in Dubai and London…When you talk about the distribution of wealth, it is not that you sit on a chair and say I have this much money and I’ll be distributing it to everybody,” Pitroda said.
“It’s naive to think like that. The PM of a country thinks like that…I have some concerns about his brain,” he said when asked to comment on the Prime Minister’s criticisim of the Congress manifesto.
“I feel sorry for them, I am amazed that they would talk like this, It is a lie. EC. This manifesto has nothing to do with the Muslim league. I am ashamed of my Prime Minister. His team is lying about the manifesto. He is a pathological liar. How can they lie through their teeth and feel comfortable,” Pitroda told ANI.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya slammed Pitroda’s comments, alleging, “Congress has decided to destroy India.”
“Now, Sam Pitroda advocates 50% inheritance tax for wealth redistribution. This means 50% of whatever we build, with all our hard work and enterprise, will be taken away. 50%, besides all the tax we pay, which too will go up, if the Congress prevails,” Malviya said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
(With inputs from agencies)
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