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Lawmaker Ranjeet Ranjan has proposed to tax couples planning to have extravagant weddings in India.
If passed, the proposed Marriages Bill will set guidelines on wedding planning, such as limiting couples’ expenses to $7,500. Those who plan to exceed the limit will be required to pay tax equivalent to 10% of their total expenses. The money will then be used to make weddings possible for underprivileged families.
Aside from expenses, the proposed guidelines will also fix the maximum number of wedding guests and the number of dishes to be served. According to Ranjan, setting limits for wedding preparations will prevent food wastage.
Every year, the Indian government records around 10 million weddings, each one lasting for more than a day. Ranjan said that regardless of socioeconomic status, engaged couples have a mindset that they should have an extravagant wedding since they feel pressured to impress their communities. For instance, a cleaning lady from Mumbai said that her family borrowed over $2,000 just to contribute to her brother’s wedding.
Recently, an ex-politician reportedly spent $75 million on his daughter’s wedding, which had international guest performers, high-tech invitations, and approximately 50,000 guests.
Other examples of extravagance in some Indian weddings include a $30,000 lunch, a bridal gown adorned with diamonds, and a hired elephant for the groom’s entrance.
The trend of extravagant weddings in the country was said to have started in 2004 when an Indian businessman held his daughter’s wedding in Versailles /vɛrˈsaɪ/, France. The wedding cost around $36 million in total. Ranjan hopes that with the new Marriages Bill, such excessive spending will be avoided.