Tax on super rich can fund Rahul Gandhi's NYAY, says World Inequality Lab

With debate raging on the implementability of the proposed minimum income scheme by Rahul Gandhi, a Paris based organisation has proposed a simple solution to fund the scheme.

Guaranteeing a minimum income of Rs 72,000 to Indian households would cost Rs. 2.9tn, ie. about 1.3% of GDP in 2020, the World Inequality Lap said in its report.


"There are several options to finance an increase in social transfers. The best way to do so in order to tackle rising inequality at the top of the distribution is to implement progressive taxes on income and wealth . Under simple assumptions, we find that a 2% tax on total wealth on households owning more than Rs 2.5 crore of wealth (that is the top 0.1% of households), would yield Rs. 2.3 trillion or 1.1% of GDP," it said.

This tax, the organisation said, would not concern 99 per cent households in India.

Under the 'Nyay' scheme, Gandhi said the Congress will provide Rs 72,000 per annum to 20 per cent poorest families in the country. The scheme will benefit 5 crore families and 25 crore individuals directly, he said.

Economists are of the opinion that the party should come out with the details of the scheme, observed that such a scheme would have a significant pressure on the economy.