'Redistribution of Wealth': When Congress Governments Forced Tax Payers to Deposit Compulsorily

New Delhi: Amid raging row over 'wealth redistribution', Prime Minister Narendra Modi has doubled down on his attacks against the Congress Manifesto. Warning citizens, PM Modi, addressing a rally in Aligarh on Monday, said, "Indians, be warned! INDI alliance is now targeting your wealth. Congress' shehzade has said that there will be a survey on everyone's properties, earnings and assets if his party comes to power. Then, he (Rahul Gandhi) goes on to say that his government will redistribute the wealth to everyone."

"Their (INDI Alliance) attention is now on the gold and jewelleries owned by our mothers and sisters. They plan on changing the existing laws in a bid to snatch away the properties of our mothers and sisters," PM Modi further added.

As the debate over Congress' wealth distribution plans grows, it is important to note that there was a law called 'Compulsory Deposit Scheme Act' in 1963 and 1974 under the previous Congress regimes that required government employees, companies and other taxpayers to mandatorily deposit a portion of their salaries for a period of 3-5 years. There was also a provision that mandated authorities to level penalties for failure to make deposits.

In fact, the 1974 act had fixed the rates of compulsory deposit anywhere between 4% up to 18% of their incomes. Under Section 4(1) of the of the 1974 act, a tax payer was required to deposit 4 per cent of their current income if it was between Rs 15,000 and Rs 25,000. However, if the income exceeded Rs 70,000, the deposit would stand at Rs 7,100 plus 18% of the amount by which the current income exceeds Rs 70,000. The act was also extended to agrarian incomes and land revenue.

Interestingly, this act was brought in the interest of national economic development."

There was another provision under this act that read: "Such other categories of persons whose annual income is one thousand five hundred rupees or more and who are not liable to payment of tax under the Income-tax Act, as may be specified by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette."

What does the 2024 Congress Manifesto say about wealth redistribution

While releasing the party's poll manifesto, Rahul Gandhi said that in a bid to attain social justice, they plan to "conduct a financial and institutional survey in a historic step to ascertain the distribution of wealth." Rahul said that this survey will be done after a nationwide caste census is conducted.