TL;DR:Ā D. Gukesh, at just 18, became the youngest-ever World Chess Champion, bagging a whopping ā¹11.45 crore in prize money. But desi netizens are buzzing about how Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Income Tax Department are set to claim a hefty slice of that pie!
Our boy D. Gukesh has made us all proud by clinching the World Chess Championship title, defeating China's Ding Liren. Not only did he bring honor to India, but he also pocketed a cool $1.35 million (around ā¹11.45 crore). But hold up! Before he can enjoy his winnings, the taxman is ready to make a move.
In India, if you're raking in more than ā¹10 lakh a year, you're looking at a 30% income tax rate. And for those elite earners making over ā¹5 crore, there's an extra surcharge of up to 37%, plus a 4% health and education cess. Doing the math, Gukesh might have to part with over ā¹4.67 crore in taxes!
Desi netizens, never missing a beat, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their cheeky takes:
"Congratulations @nsitharaman and @IncomeTaxIndia for earning ā¹5 crore without any effort. Gukesh is also going to share the winning trophy with you guys."
"Even in chess, they manage to checkmate the earnings."
"That is called TDS: Tax Deducted by Sitharaman!"
While Gukesh's achievement is monumental, it's a stark reminder of the hefty taxes on high earnings in India. But hey, if you're making crores, sharing a bit with the nation isn't the worst thing, right?
Let's celebrate Gukesh's victory and hope he enjoys his hard-earned moneyāafter the taxman's cut, of course!
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