Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said rich people of the country should pay more taxes.

New Delhi, Jan 24/Nationalturk- In what could not be termed as a good news for rich in India, Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said rich people of the country should pay more taxes.

“The tax rates in India were announced in 1997 and these have remained the same and have survived four governments and four finance ministers,” Chidambaram told CNBC.

Stating that he believes in stable tax rates, he said, “I must concede that there is an argument that when the economy requires, government requires more resources, the very rich willingly should pay a little more. That is not to say that tax rate should not be stable.”

“I think we should have stability in tax rates but we should consider the argument that very rich should be asked to a pay a little more on some occasions but that is not the view I am expressing. That is simply the argument I have heard and I am repeating,” he said.

India’s rich can’t treat extreme wealth as personal wealth

India’s business tycoon and Wipro chairman Azim Premji has told NDTV that India’s super-rich cannot treat extreme wealth as personal wealth.

Calling for higher consciousness among India’s wealthy, he said in a poor country, there is a legitimacy in taxing the super-rich.  “Wealthy people should consider it as part of their obligation … the more they think so, the longer they are going to survive in their positions. Otherwise, the forces of socialism will overtake them,” added Premji, one of the richest men in India.

Indian Prime Minister’s economic advisor C Rangarajan has also pitched for higher rates of taxes for super rich. “One need not disturb the structure of Income Tax system in the country as it is now. However, we should add a surcharge for income above particular level. The government needs to raise more revenues and the people with larger incomes must be willing to contribute more”.

Rangarajan, who is an economic expert, had said the forthcoming Indian budget could look at imposing surcharge on income above a threshold.

Write your comments and thoughts below

Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk India News