Tax the super rich in India to raise resources to fight COVID-19: Nobel laureate Joseph Stigliz
Kolkata: American economist and Nobel laureate Joseph E Stigliz on Monday advocated taxing the super rich class in India to raise resources for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, if the government fails to pool in the required funds.
He also said the Indian government should not shy away from spending to control the pandemic and help the vulnerable sections.
"Funds should be targeted at high-impact areas rather than low-impact ones, and if you can't get resources, raise taxes as you (India) have a lot of billionaires," Stigliz said at a FICCI-organised interactive session.
There have been recent debates on levying COVID tax on the super rich in India.
On the Centre's call for 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (Self- reliant India), the noted economist said too much self reliance will lower the standard of living as a lot of products, including vaccines, are imported.
"This gives nativism but is not realistic, as the pandemic and climate change have shown the need for greater collaboration," he said.
Stigliz also said India and the US did not handle the COVID-19 situation well. Allowing the movement of migrant workers exacerbated the spread of the virus and defeated the purpose of lockdown, he said.
Stigliz criticised the US for widening the divide of racism and income, and "similar divisive politics in India" that will undermine the society and economy.
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Iran denies ceasefire agreement with Israel, warns response will stop only if attacks cease
Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday dismissed reports of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, stating that no such deal currently exists between the two countries.
In a statement posted on social media, Araghchi said, “As of now, there is NO 'agreement' on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,” directly contradicting an earlier announcement by the US President, who had claimed that a ceasefire was expected to begin around 0400 GMT.
However, Araghchi indicated that Iran would halt its retaliatory operations if Israel ended its military actions. “If the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,” he said.
