Who Was James Wilson? The Man Who Introduced Income Tax In India In 1860

In the year 1859, as the British Crown was still recovering from the injuries caused to it by the mutiny of 1857, it appointed a Scottish businessman to find a solution to India＊s financial crisis.

It was a Scotsman named James Wilson who presented the first budget in India in the year 1860 and introduced the income tax in the budget. July 24th is celebrated as income tax day in India because, on this very date in 1860, the concept of income tax was implemented for the first time ever in India.

Who Was James Wilson?

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James Wilson was also the founder of the magazine 'The Economist'. He also founded the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, which merged with Standard Bank in 1969 to form Standard Chartered. Wilson was born on June 3, 1805, at Hawick, a small border town in Scotland, and died in Calcutta on August 11, 1860.

James Wilson used to have a credible presence in England for his firm grasp over economic theory and policy as well as his practical knowledge of commercial affairs.

Having begun his career as a humble hat-maker, Wilson taught himself enough about finance and economics as the years passed and eventually rose to the position of finance member in Viceroy Lord Canning's council in undivided India. He was also a Member of the British Parliament, besides being Finance Secretary to the UK Treasury and Vice-President of the Board of Trade.

Wilson first arrived in India in 1859, at a time when the British government here was hard beset by financial stress in the wake of what the British called the Sepoy Mutiny and Indians their first War of Independence. Increased military expenditures had drained the government's resources, leaving it with huge debts. Wilson, with his deep knowledge of how the market worked, was seen as the man who could salvage the situation.

"He [Wilson] introduced for the first time in India a financial budget framed upon the English model 每 inspired the public mind with fresh confidence 每 brought together the threads of finance which had been broken and scattered by a military and political convulsion 每 stimulated the operations of the Military Finance Commission to review the numerous branches of civil expenditure 每 reviewed the existing system of audit and account 每 besides discharging the multifarious duties devolving on a finance minister and a member of the general government,§ Sabyashachi Bhattacharya quotes Wilson's understudy and later successor, Sir Richard Temple, in the book 'Financial Foundations of the British Raj', as per ET report.

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When James Wilson Introduced Income Tax In India

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James Wilson was the man behind the introduction of the Income Tax Act when he presented the first budget in India in 1860〞a hated move that gave rise to a huge controversy. He also introduced the licence tax and tobacco duty.

While he gave India an invaluable financial governance tool by way of his budget, his income tax act deeply dismayed businesses as well as the zamindars, the landed class.

As per the report, his argument was that because the British government provided Indians with a safe environment for trade, they were justified in charging a fee in the form of an income tax. It, however, cut little ice. Aversion to paying income tax in India has persisted to this day.

Wilson was a liberal and strong proponent of the policy of laissez-faire. His magazine, The Economist, was doubtful about imperialism; it argued in 1862 that colonies "would be just as valuable to us...if they were independent".

It, however, did believe in the idea of the white man's burden〞basically the essence of colonialism〞saying that "uncivilised races" were owed "guidance, guardianship, and teaching".

He Was Sent To India By Queen Victoria

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In August 1859, Wilson went on to serve as the financial member of the Council of India. He was sent by Queen Victoria to India to establish the tax structure, create a new paper currency, and remodel India's finance system after the Rebellion of 1857. However, he was reportedly in office only a year before he died. In 1860, he refused to leave the stifling summer heat of Calcutta, contracted dysentery, and died in August of that year at age 55.

Despite his prominent public role, Wilson was buried unknown at a cemetery at Mullick Bazar in Kolkata. His grave was reportedly discovered in 2007 by CP Bhatia, a joint commissioner of income tax, while researching a book on India's tax history. Due to the efforts of CP Bhatia, the tombstone was restored by the Christian Burial Board.

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