India is evidently strengthening its system for taxing and reporting income earned across the world. Under Indian tax law, taxpayers classified as residents and citizens of India, regardless of their place of residence, must report their global income, including money earned from foreign employment, businesses, investments, properties and overseas bank accounts…& India now intends to enforce this forcefully.
A big sign of the government’s intent came in the new foreign-asset disclosure window open till December 31, under the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers-Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS) will allow eligible taxpayers to report overseas income and assets that they failed to declare earlier.. a clear indication that, post this window, punitive actions on defaulters can follow.
Under the disclosure scheme, eligible taxpayers declaring previously undisclosed foreign income or assets worth up to Rs 1 crore will pay tax at 30 per cent, along with an additional penalty equal to the tax amount, taking the effective liability to an even higher percentage. A separate category allows certain foreign assets worth up to Rs 5 crore, acquired from already taxed income or during a period of non-residency, to be disclosed by paying a fee of Rs 1 lakh.
One of the concerns that taxpayers are now dealing with is the rupee exchange rate. While the exchange rate for converting dollar-denominated assets into rupees is fixed at March 31, 2026, the rules do not clearly specify the corresponding valuation date for income. This could have a major impact on wealthy taxpayers with overseas assets. Since the rupee has depreciated by around 14–34 per cent over three to seven years, assets that may have been below the Rs 1 crore threshold when acquired could be valued much higher in rupee terms today. If the March 31 exchange rate is applied, some taxpayers could find themselves crossing the Rs 1 crore limit, potentially exposing them to the higher tax and additional payment applicable under the scheme.
The system has moderate similarities with the United States, where citizens and resident taxpayers are usually required to report their worldwide income even when they live or work abroad. Earlier, there was an important difference: the US system was largely linked to citizenship and residency, while India’s system was mainly based on tax residency. Therefore, an Indian citizen living abroad as a non-resident was generally taxed in India only on income received in India or connected to the country. But this time the government is taking it to an elevated level to implement tax enforcement.
India’s Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers-Disclosure Scheme also makes it clear that India is moving towards stricter disclosure requirements for overseas income and assets.
Dr David Bozward, Chairman, Global Research Board, Water & Shark, told Times Now Digital that overly aggressive tax policies can push wealthy families to relocate their residences to more tax-friendly jurisdictions.
“From a global wealth stability perspective, predictability matters as much as the headline tax rate. Governments have a legitimate interest in preventing artificial tax avoidance, but rules that are retrospective, unclear or excessively aggressive can encourage wealthy families to relocate their residence, family offices and investment activity. The strongest jurisdictions will be those that combine effective taxation with legal certainty, treaty depth, institutional credibility and long-term policy stability,” he said.
India has already witnessed a sharp rise in the number of citizens renouncing their Indian citizenship over the past decade, prior to the new zeal on tax enforcement sans boundaries with annual figures climbing from 1,31,489 in 2015 to 2,06,378 in 2024, an increase of nearly 57 per cent, according to Ministry of External Affairs data.
Jesdev Saggar, CEO, 3 Associates Capital, noted, “Amnesty windows can be an effective short-term solution and hence usually welcome by government and public alike; however, taxing global incomes of citizens opens a complex risk balancing excercise between capital flight risk and transparency, UHNWIs as an example, have access to other global jurisdictions to move their domicility.”
Low-Tax Destinations Attract High-Net-Worth Individual Indians
As India tightens scrutiny of overseas income and assets, tax considerations are also becoming an important factor for people deciding where to live, work or set up businesses. Countries and jurisdictions with low or zero personal income tax can be particularly attractive to high earners, entrepreneurs, investors and internationally mobile Indian professionals.
In the latest Caribbean Islands have emerged as an attractive destination for Indian high-net-worth individuals and billionaires seeking to diversify their investments and secure greater global mobility. Citizenship programmes offered by several Caribbean nations provide visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to a large number of destinations, while also opening avenues for international business, education and investment. With incresngly improved connectivity near free flow into the United States & many european countries & year round balmy weather caribbean islands which were hitherto the playground of the rich & the famous from the US & the european super-rich, are increasingly on the radar of the Indian super-rich from the Tax-residency point of view.
Among the various citizenship-by-investment programmes in Caribbean nations, St. Kitts and Nevis is considered one of the most attractive options, offering premium services and an efficient application process that can be completed in as little as three months, making it one of the prefered one…. other than the Cayman Islands and Dominican Republic.
Additionally, the UAE has always been one of the preferred destinations for HNWIs moving out; particularly, Dubai stands out as one of the most popular destinations for Indians because it combines a zero personal income tax regime with strong infrastructure, connectivity, business opportunities and a large Indian community. The UAE does not impose personal income tax on individuals. This means employees and individuals generally do not pay UAE personal income tax on their salaries and other personal income.
Several other destinations that attract wealthy individuals and globally mobile professionals with relatively low or zero personal income taxes. The Bahamas, Monaco and Vanuatu have no personal income tax, while Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland are known for comparatively competitive or favourable tax regimes.
Pranshu G, Partner at Ashok Pranshu & Co., said, “ Indian income tax is principally residence-based, not citizenship-based; merely obtaining another passport does not remove Indian tax exposure if the person remains a tax resident of India. That said, tax and regulatory considerations are increasingly part of migration decisions. Some individuals with foreign equities, digital assets or dollar-denominated investments prefer jurisdictions offering reduced reporting requirements.
Striking The Balance Between Tax Compliance And Wealth Retention
As the Indian government seeks to strengthen disclosure of overseas income and assets through FAST-DS, the bigger challenge will be to strike a balance between tax enforcement and retaining high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs). Wealthy individuals, entrepreneurs and business owners play an important role in an economy through investment, job creation, consumption and capital formation, particularly at a time when economic uncertainty makes domestic capital and enterprise even more valuable.
Stronger scrutiny can help improve compliance and prevent tax leakage, but an increasingly heavy tax burden or excessive regulatory pressure could also influence where wealthy Indians choose to live, invest and establish businesses.
