'Inheritance tax will directly adversely affect the middle class', Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said after voting

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke on inheritance tax after voting in Bengaluru. He said that this adversely affects the middle class, affecting their hard-earned money. “This (inheritance tax) hits straight at the middle class,” he said. They work hard, and their sweat and hard work get saved in the form of small savings here and there, either they buy a dream house or keep some fixed deposits. All of them will be affected if an inheritance tax is imposed. Finance Minister Sitharaman said these things after casting her vote for the Lok Sabha elections in Bengaluru.

After voting in Jayanagar, Bangalore on Friday, Finance Minister Sitharaman spoke on inheritance tax. During this, he expressed concern over the impact of imposing an inheritance tax on hard-working middle-class families. This response from the Finance Minister came after Sam Pitroda started the discussion on inheritance tax. He said punishing those who add money merely to maintain their savings could undo the economic gains made over the past several decades.

He said, "I remember there was a compulsory deposit scheme in 1968 where people's deposits were 18 percent, 20 percent. Some of it was taken away. No reason was given at that time. The Finance Minister said that if the money creators are punished just because they have some money left, then India's progress in the last ten years will come to naught."

Sitharaman also recalled the situation during the Congress era when a 90% tax rate was imposed. The Finance Minister also noted the contradiction between the socialist model and the current government's approach. The Finance Minister said, "Congress had imposed 90% tax. You probably won't believe that the present generation will not remember or even know anything about it. There was an India where under the Congress rule we were Everyone used to pay 90% of their income as tax. Is this the socialist model with which the Congress party is comfortable."

The ongoing Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka are seeing a tough fight between Congress and the BJP-JD(S) alliance. Voting is being held for 14 constituencies during the second phase in the state.