Richest 21 Indian billionaires have more wealth than 700 million Indians: Oxfam report | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: Highlighting that the the richest 21 Indian billionaires have more wealth than 700 million Indians, a new report by Oxfam India states that from the time the pandemic began till November last year billionaires in India have seen their wealth surge by 121%, or Rs 3,608 crore per day in real terms.
While just 5% Indians owned over 62% of total wealth in the country in 2021, the bottom 50% of the population possessed merely 3% of the wealth, according to Oxfam India’s latest report “Survival of the Richest: The India story”. The findings of the report will be shared at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland on Monday. The report further draws attention to the total number of billionaires in India increasing from 102 in 2020 to 166 billionaires in 2022.
“The combined wealth of India’s 100 richest has touched $660 billion (INR 54.12 lakh crore) – an amount that could fund the entire Union Budget for more than 18 months,” the report states. The analysis further shows that if India’s billionaires are taxed once at 2% on their entire wealth, it would support the requirement of Rs 40,423 crore for the nutrition of malnourished in the country for the next three years.
In this backdrop, Oxfam India has called on Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to implement “progressive tax measures” such as wealth tax in the upcoming Union budget. Amitabh Behar, CEO, Oxfam India said, “The poor are paying disproportionately higher taxes, spending more on essential items and services when compared to the rich. The time has come to tax the rich and ensure they pay their fair share. We urge the finance minister to implement progressive tax measures such as wealth tax and inheritance tax which have been historically proven to be effective in tackling inequality.”
The report highlights the stark inequality as it states that from 2012 to 2021, 40% of the wealth created in India has gone to just 1% of the population and only a mere 3% of the wealth has gone to the bottom 50%.
The report says the Union government continues to tax the poor and middle class more than the rich. Approximately 64% of the total Rs 14.83 lakh crore in Goods and Services Tax (GST), came from the bottom 50% of the population in 2021-22. Citing estimates, the report claimed that 33% of GST comes from the middle 40% and only 3% from the top 10%. “The bottom 50% of the population pays six times more on indirect taxes as a percentage of income compared to the top 10%,” it stated.
“Since 2020, the world’s richest 1% have captured almost two-thirds of all new wealth – six times more than the 7 billion people that make up the bottom 90% of humanity. Billionaire fortunes are increasing by $2.7 billion a day, even as inflation outpaces the wages of at least 1.7 billion workers, more than the population of India,” the report said.
While just 5% Indians owned over 62% of total wealth in the country in 2021, the bottom 50% of the population possessed merely 3% of the wealth, according to Oxfam India’s latest report “Survival of the Richest: The India story”. The findings of the report will be shared at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland on Monday. The report further draws attention to the total number of billionaires in India increasing from 102 in 2020 to 166 billionaires in 2022.
“The combined wealth of India’s 100 richest has touched $660 billion (INR 54.12 lakh crore) – an amount that could fund the entire Union Budget for more than 18 months,” the report states. The analysis further shows that if India’s billionaires are taxed once at 2% on their entire wealth, it would support the requirement of Rs 40,423 crore for the nutrition of malnourished in the country for the next three years.
In this backdrop, Oxfam India has called on Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to implement “progressive tax measures” such as wealth tax in the upcoming Union budget. Amitabh Behar, CEO, Oxfam India said, “The poor are paying disproportionately higher taxes, spending more on essential items and services when compared to the rich. The time has come to tax the rich and ensure they pay their fair share. We urge the finance minister to implement progressive tax measures such as wealth tax and inheritance tax which have been historically proven to be effective in tackling inequality.”
The report highlights the stark inequality as it states that from 2012 to 2021, 40% of the wealth created in India has gone to just 1% of the population and only a mere 3% of the wealth has gone to the bottom 50%.
The report says the Union government continues to tax the poor and middle class more than the rich. Approximately 64% of the total Rs 14.83 lakh crore in Goods and Services Tax (GST), came from the bottom 50% of the population in 2021-22. Citing estimates, the report claimed that 33% of GST comes from the middle 40% and only 3% from the top 10%. “The bottom 50% of the population pays six times more on indirect taxes as a percentage of income compared to the top 10%,” it stated.
“Since 2020, the world’s richest 1% have captured almost two-thirds of all new wealth – six times more than the 7 billion people that make up the bottom 90% of humanity. Billionaire fortunes are increasing by $2.7 billion a day, even as inflation outpaces the wages of at least 1.7 billion workers, more than the population of India,” the report said.
