Pandemic wealth
PremiumYet, as gains in capital markets can be volatile and subject to quick reversal, these wealth estimates don’t support the case for a new wealth tax.
The global economy at large had a subdued 2021 while trying to recover from covid-caused disruptions, but asset-holding households fared rather well. According to the latest Global Wealth Report of Credit Suisse, global household wealth grew 9.8% over the year to reach $463.6 trillion, with wealth per adult climbing to $87,489. We did well on this count too. Household wealth in India rose 12% to an estimated $14.23 trillion, with wealth per adult placed at $15,535. That this should happen during the course of a health crisis shouldn’t surprise us, given the asset price upshoot caused by money-infusion taps opened globally by central banks in their effort to secure their economies. Stock values soared in response to their easy-money policies that began being withdrawn in earnest only this year. Asset ownership in India, however, remains concentrated at the upper reaches of our wealth pyramid. The negative secondary effects of big rescue plans, such as high inflation, are more relevant to many more households. Yet, as gains in capital markets can be volatile and subject to quick reversal, these wealth estimates don’t support the case for a new wealth tax.
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