There is a challenge in this approach. I am absolutely not opposed to a wealth tax. In fact, far from it, I am delighted to have one.

But what it simply further encourages is for more and more wealthy to become NRIs, and leave the country along with their accumulated wealth. I am not sure of the legal Framework that permits an Indian to take vast wealth and move abroad with it, but I know that people have done it and it is possible, and those who have not done it are often eager to do it.

The wealthy Indians who have settled abroad get tax benefits that Indians do not have. They also get treated very nicely, as foreign investors, when they then invest their wealth back in Indian projects.

We could block the movement of capital from India to foreign shores. But that would also make it hard for a Tata or Oyo or Infosys to invest abroad in other companies, or in the expansion of their own company.

Wealthy people and their eager minions in Consulting firms have devised various instruments to make the identification of flight of wealth made in India to foreign shores very hard.

Numerous methods of obfuscation exist, and it will take very strong political will to enact laws and processes. And then these policies will provide too much power to bureaucrats. It will be a return to the era of licence Raj, which will prevent the creation of multinational Indian corporations. And we do need Indian MNCs in banking, mining, agri, pharma and services. In fact we already have them and they're awesome.

So yeah, a wealth tax is great. But it's penny wise, pound foolish. First figure out how to keep Indian wealth in India. That Indian wealth is currently the personal wealth of these super rich, and they can just up and go with it. Like too many others before them.