Inheritance Tax in India: Is There a Need of Resurrection?
![handle is hein.journals/ijlmhs20 and id is 1465 raw text is: International Journal of Law) Management & Humanities
Inheritance Tax in India: Is there a need of
Resurrection?
NIKITA BEGUM TALUKDARI
ABSTRACT
Inheritance tax is a direct tax that is often regarded as the most progressive of the various
tax systems in the nation. Inherited property is subject to Inheritance Tax. The assets that
are bequeathed to a person from a deceased person are known as inherited property.
Inheritance is the process of passing a person's property, titles, debts, rights, and duties to
their lawful heirs following their death, either via a Will or by the rules of succession. Under
the Estate Duty Act of 1953, it was first implemented in India as Estate Duty. The rate of
inheritance tax varies depending on the heir's connection to the descendent and the amount
of the property inherited. This tax is not now applied in India since any inherited property
obtained through a Will, by way of inheritance, or in anticipation of the payer's death is
excluded from Income Tax under Section 56(ii).
Various state governments are struggling to pay their employees' wages as a result of the
outbreak of Covid-19. The same is true for the Central government. It is the result of a
number of factors that have been in play for at least a decade. According to reports, the
central government is exploring a variety of methods to deal with the issue. The
reinstatement of inheritance tax is one of them. The purpose of this study is to examine
whether reintroducing inheritance tax would be advantageous to India, taking into account
its social and economic structure, and comparing it to the inheritance tax model used in the
United Kingdom.
Keywords: Inheritance Tax, Direct Tax, Estate Duty, Death tax, Reintroduction.
I. INTRODUCTION
Inheritance tax is a tax charged on property that is inherited by legal successors after the death
of its predecessor. Despite being a progressive tax, inheritance tax has long been a source of
controversy across the globe. While proponents of social justice and equality see it as a way to
reduce inequality by bridging the gap between rich and poor, it is opposed by those who
prioritise liberal property rights, or those who argue that the government should not intervene
in family property matters and refuse to pay double tax on the same property. Scholars from
countries that have imposed inheritance tax are persuading their governments to repeal it, while
1 Author is an Assistant Professor at School of Law, UPES, Dehradun, India.
© 2022. International Journal of Law Management & Humanities [ISSN 2581-5369]
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[Vol. 5 Iss 6; 1466]](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/ijlmhs20&div=130&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Inheritance Tax in India: Is There a Need of Resurrection?
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