New Delhi: India’s young chess player D Gukesh created history by winning the World Chess Championship in Singapore on December 12 2024. He defeated China’s Ding Liren to become the youngest chess world champion. After this spectacular victory, Gukesh received Rs 11.45 crore as prize money. Apart from this, the Tamil Nadu government gave him another reward of Rs 5 crore, taking the total amount to Rs 16.45 crore.
Gukesh will no longer have to pay taxes:
According to Indian tax rules, a 42.5 per cent tax would have been imposed on Gukesh’s prize money, due to which he would have had to pay about Rs 6.23 crore as tax. After this, he would have been left with only Rs 10.22 crore. However, the Finance Ministry of the Modi government has now praised Gukesh’s achievement and announced a tax exemption for his prize. According to reports, this decision will be officially released soon, so that Gukesh will get the full prize money.
D. Gukesh, India’s youngest World Chess Champion, had ₹4.67 crore tax waived on his ₹11.34 crore prize, following an appeal by The Philox, honoring his victory and supporting young talent. pic.twitter.com/INcElDM2yL
— Anant Ladha, CFA CA CFP LL.B. (@anantladha25) December 20, 2024
How much money would have been after tax:
Gukesh received a prize money of $1.3 million, which is Rs 11.45 crore in Indian currency. According to Indian tax rules, this amount would have been taxed at 30 per cent, 15 per cent surcharge and 4 per cent cess. In total, Gukesh would have had to pay a tax of Rs 4.09 crore, which would have left him with Rs 7.36 crore. Apart from this, the Rs 5 crore given by the Tamil Nadu government was also taxed, due to which Gukesh would have had to pay a tax of Rs 2.86 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated:
After Gukesh’s championship win, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many other prominent people congratulated him. With this win, Gukesh has become the second Indian chess player after Vishwanathan Anand to win the World Championship. After this special win, Gukesh expressed his happiness by hugging his father and coach.
