Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday proposed to levy a surcharge of 10 percent on individuals whose annual taxable incomes exceed Rs.1 crore.
The surcharge will be levied for the 2013-14 financial year.
Presenting the union budget 2013-14 to the lower house of the parliament, Chidambaram said there are only 42,800 individuals in the country who will be liable to pay the surcharge.
The finance minister urged such high networth individuals to follow the example of industrialist Azim Premjee, who last week gave $2.3 billion to an education charity he controls, reportedly the biggest charitable donation in the country's recent history.
Chidambaram also increased the surcharge on domestic companies whose annual income crosses Rs.10 crore from five percent to 10 percent.