The wealth inequality in India is glaring. According to a study, India’s richest 1% hold 42.5% of national wealth while the bottom 50%, the majority of the population, own a mere 2.8%.
So naturally you must be thinking that the rich pay more taxes. Let’s see how much taxes they pay.
Note that for this article, we will consider income above ₹1 crore.
As per the latest slabs, individuals who earn more than ₹15 lakh need to pay income tax at the rate of 15%. But the government levies a certain surcharge on the income tax for the super-rich people.
Taxable income between ₹1 crore- ₹2 crore.
Individuals whose total income falls in this slab need to pay an additional surcharge of 15% on total income tax.
For instance, if an individual is earning ₹1.5 crore, their total tax liability will amount to somewhere around ₹51 lakh.
Taxable income between ₹2 crore and ₹5 crore.
Individuals whose total income falls in this slab need to pay an additional surcharge of 25% on total income tax.
For instance, if an individual is earning ₹3 crore, their total tax liability will amount to somewhere around ₹1.15 crore.
Taxable income > ₹5 crore.
Individuals whose total income falls in this slab need to pay an additional surcharge of 37% on total income tax.
For instance, if an individual is earning ₹6 crore, their total tax liability will amount to somewhere around ₹2.5 crore.
Taxable income > ₹10 crore.
The surcharge is same as that for income slab > ₹5 crore.
For instance, if an individual is earning ₹11 crore, their total tax liability will amount to somewhere around ₹4.67 crore.
While this is how the tax is calculated for the rich individuals, there’s not much known about the taxes paid by the super-rich billionaires of India like the Ambanis and Adanis. They pay corporate taxes but there’s no information beyond that.
Please note that we have not considered exemptions and special cases like senior citizens, etc. while computing the above taxes. For more detials on income tax read here.
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