Rich Indians Face U.S.’s 'Death Tax'| Indians In The U.S.| Skyline With Driti Atri

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Tonight on Skyline, the American dream is beginning to look very different for Indians again. For years, millions believed that the United States was the ultimate destination for their dreams to be fulfilled. In fact, for the stability, career growth, global success.

[00:00:16]But now Now from rich Indian families worrying about massive US taxes to Indian techies now emotionally exhausted by the visa stress to AI replacing jobs inside major companies, a new kind of fear that is spreading very quietly across America. Ladies and gentlemen, at the very same time, immigrants are becoming more and more important to the US economy than ever before. America's hospitals, schools, financial firms, and technology companies are depending heavily on foreign-born workers just to survive. And [music] specifically Indians here. Yet, layoffs are rising, companies are reconstructing, and pressure on skilled workers is becoming intense. Well, tonight's stories, they are not just headlines. Together, they reveal a deeper global shift involving money, migration, immigration, technology, and survival in a rapidly changing world. I am Druti Atri, and this is Skyline.

[00:01:21]In the first segment, can you imagine spending your entire life building wealth for your children? You work hard, invest carefully, buy international stocks, diversify your assets, and dream about giving the next generation a very secure future. But now, many wealthy Indian families are discovering that American dream may come with a very, very expensive hidden cost. A growing number of rich Indians investing in the US stock they are beginning to discover and worry about America's inheritance tax system, sometimes called the death tax.

[00:01:57]According to the tax expert, non-US citizens holding the American assets may face inheritance tax up to 40% on certain assets above just $60,000.

[00:02:10]Well, that means a wealthy Indian parents pass away while holding large US stock portfolios, their children could face a massive tax burden before inheriting that particular wealth.

[00:02:21]Suddenly, families that once viewed America as the safest place to grow money, they are now worried about whether their children will inherit their properties or maybe paperwork, tax complications, and legal battles. You know, this particular issue, it is becoming specifically serious because many high net worth Indian families today, they hold large amount of the wealth in the US listed stocks, startup equity, in fact, restricted stock here, and employee stock option, and overseas investment. Many of their children they are studying, they are working, settling abroad, particularly in the US. Families are now rushing to tax advisors, wealth managers, and immigration consultants searching for a solution here. Some are considering offshore trusts, others are looking at insurance-based structure, while some even want special RBI approval to reorganize overseas assets before future inheritance problems emerge. But you know, here experts say that the whole situation that's not simple. Foreign workers exchange law under FEMA and the liberalized remittance scheme, it creates additional complications. There is uncertainty over whether resident Indians can freely transfer to overseas assets to NRI children, particularly when those assets were purchased through the India's outward remittance system.

[00:03:44]Well, even questions about selling the US shares and gifting the money later, that remains legally complicated. Some experts now believe that parents should transfer some overseas wealth while their children they are still living in India before they permanently move abroad. But you know, emotionally, many parents hesitate to surrender financial control too early.

[00:04:06]Well, others are exploring the EB-5 investor visa route for their children, which kind of requires significant US investment. But even there, well, confusion around overseas asset transfer that is creating a lot of stress.

[00:04:20]Well, you know, the bigger message is becoming clear here.

[00:04:24]Well, wealth planning, immigration planning, tax planning, children's future education, it can no longer be treated separately. For many rich Indian families, the American dream is no longer just about success. It is about a complicated [music] financial puzzle involving multiple governments, multiple regulations, and growing uncertainty.

[00:04:44]And while wealthy Indians are trying to protect money already invested in America, millions of ordinary Indians are still sending money back home from the United States, and that too every single day. That's right, India has once again become the world's biggest recipient of remittances. According to a major global migration report, India received more than 137 billion dollars from overseas workers and migrants in 2024.

[00:05:13]You know, that is an extraordinary amount of money flowing into the country from Indians working abroad. And the United States remain the single biggest source of these remittances.

[00:05:24]But you know, these massive numbers, they're also fueling growing debate in America about immigration, foreign worker, and economic dependence. A viral social media post literally triggered controversy after pointing out that India received about 272 [music] billion dollars in remittances over the last 2 years. While America remained the top sending country, The post accused the foreign workers, specifically Indians, of earning money into the US economy and sending it back overseas while the American citizens they struggle with layoffs and job uncertainty. Well, the debate becomes even more intense because Indian professionals dominate America's H-1B visa ecosystem. Indian engineers, software developers, healthcare workers, consultants, and in fact, financial professionals, they form a huge part of the skilled migrant workforce inside the United States. At the very same time though, India's global student population is also exploding. Hundreds of thousands of Indian students, they continue moving abroad every single year for higher education. Specifically to North America and Europe.

[00:06:35]But here experts argue that these remittances, they are not simply money leaving America. Oh, they are not. They support uh millions of families back in India. They fund healthcare, education, property purchases, business investment, and family survival. Entire middle-class ecosystem in India, it depend heavily on overseas income sent by the migrants who are working abroad. [music] In fact, global migration experts also say that India's diaspora has become one of the country's biggest strategic advantages.

[00:07:07]Indians abroad are helping India's technology ecosystem grow by sharing expertise, investment, network, and mentorship. Well, ladies and gentlemen, the old fear of brain drain, it is now slowly turning into brain uh circulation where global Indian talent benefit multiple economies all at the same time.

[00:07:29]However, America's dependence on uh immigrants, that is becoming impossible to ignore because today immigrants are no longer working only in farms, hotels, or construction sites. They are deeply embedded inside America's most critical industry. And that brings us to our next story tonight. A major new study based on the US Census Bureau data, it is changing the entire conversation around immigrant labor in America. Well, for years immigration debate in the US, it often focused on wage-based work, border crossing and blue-collar jobs. But the new data, it shows immigrants are now deeply integrated into nearly every major sector of the US economy. And specifically here we are talking about Indians.

[00:08:15]According to the study, educational and health care services have become the single largest employer of immigrant workers in the US. More than 5.5 million first generation immigrants, they now work in health care and education alone.

[00:08:30]These are not just entry-level workers.

[00:08:33]They include nurses, surgeons, emergency room doctors, professor professors, teachers, home health care aids and specialists across multiple medical and academic fields. You know, here experts say that America's health care system is already facing a major staffing crisis, right? Nursing shortages are growing, demand for caregivers, it is exploding due to the America's aging population.

[00:08:58]Teacher shortage it continue across multiple states. And immigrant workers, they are increasingly filling those particular jobs because the domestic labor pipeline that simply cannot keep up.

[00:09:11]Here the report also reveals something that many people rarely discusses publicly. Well, immigrants are heavily present inside America's professional and financial sectors as well.

[00:09:22]Millions work in management, consulting, finance, corporate strategy, accounting, legal service, in fact, high-level business operations. Even America's technology ecosystem depends massively on foreign-born workers.

[00:09:37]Nearly 3 million immigrants, yes, they now work in science, engineering, software development and technology related occupation. Perhaps the most surprising finding involved public administration. That's right, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, they are directly employed within the US government system and agencies themselves. And this creates [music] an unusual contradiction. You know why?

[00:10:02]At a time when immigration enforcement remains politically sensitive, immigrant workers are simultaneously helping operate the very system enforcing those policies. In fact, the study also showed that immigrants now make up nearly one in five workers in America's labor force. In fact, in major region, specifically in the west and northeast, immigrant participation it is even higher. Experts warn that without any immigrant labor, multiple American industries could face serious economic disruption.

[00:10:35]But you know what? Despite this dependence on immigrant workers, layoffs across America are continuing to rise.

[00:10:43]And now even highly skilled professions are beginning to feel insecure about their future. Layoffs in the US are now rising for the fourth consecutive year.

[00:10:53]That's right, according to the labor data, more than 21 million layoffs they were recorded in 2025, making it one of the highest layoff period since the pandemic year. Every single day by the way, tens of thousands of Americans they wake up unemployed and they go home uncertain about their future.

[00:11:12]You know one recent example shocked many people across the country. Tire giant Goodyear announced plans to shut down a major factory in North Carolina.

[00:11:22]Well, potentially eliminating over 1,700 jobs. But for the local community, such closures they are devastating because factories are often economic lifelines supporting restaurants, right? They're supporting shops, housing market, entire local economies.

[00:11:39]Here, experts say that today's layoffs are being driven by multiple pressure all at once.

[00:11:44]Well, slowing demand, inflation, tariff-related costs, automation, global competition, technological disruption, they are all colliding together.

[00:11:53]And at the very same time, America's worker support system, they are no longer keeping pace with the speed of economic change. Do you remember years ago, the US had a special worker assistance program called the Trade Adjustment Assistance, which kind of helped workers retain, relocate, or build career after layoff?

[00:12:13]But today, many experts believe that America's current ecosystem, it's outdated. It's insufficient for the modern economy.

[00:12:21]And now, artificial intelligence, that is making the whole situation even more complicated because companies are no longer simply reducing cost.

[00:12:31]Interestingly, they are redesigning entire businesses, and that too around AI and automation. And you know, one major American company, it has openly admitted exactly that situation.

[00:12:43]Groupon, once one of America's most famous internet success story, it is now cutting hundreds of jobs worldwide as part of its massive artificial intelligence reconstructing effort. The company plans to eliminate nearly a quarter of its global workforce while rebuilding operations around AI-driven system and automation. Well, the layoffs, it will impact departments including customer service, software engineering, human resource, and operational team. According to the company statement, by the way, the reconstructing, it is expected to save millions of dollars annually. But for them, with large portion of those savings being reinvested directly into the AI infrastructure and automation, too.

[00:13:28]You know, what makes this whole situation specifically important is that this company is being usually open about its intention. [music] Many companies described AI as a support tool designed to help the employees work more efficiently. However, Groupon openly admitted that AI system is increasingly handling the operational task end-to-end, allowing fewer employees to manage the larger workflow.

[00:13:53]The company says AI will help identify merchants, automate the overreach, improve the customer engagement, streamline support function, and enhance engineering productivity. Executives insist that the goal is not to completely replace humans, but workers across the tech industries, they are hearing a very, very different message.

[00:14:14]Well, for the workers, AI is no longer just a productivity tool. [music] It is becoming a direct competitor. And this fear, it is spreading rapidly across Silicon Valley. Specifically, as layoffs continue inside major technology companies. But for the immigrant workers, losing a job that creates an even bigger crisis, right? Because immigration status itself often depends on employment. [music] And one Indian professional recently captured that emotional reality [music] in a viral online post.

[00:14:46]A 33-year-old Indian man recently shared an emotional story online explaining why he has decided to permanently leave the US after more than a decade of struggle, uncertainty, and immigration stress.

[00:15:00]Well, the man said that he arrived in America in 2015 as an international student. Like many Indians, he worked hard, climbed the professional ladder, and eventually won the H-1B visa lottery after multiple attempts. His company had even started the green card process, giving him hope that permanent residency might finally become possible for him.

[00:15:22]But after waiting for more than a year, he was suddenly laid off. In fact, his immigration process, it ended immediately. Well, in his emotional post, the man described America's immigration system as psychologically exhausting. He spoke about years of anxiety surrounding visa stamping, green card backlog, travel restriction, fear of getting stranded outside the country.

[00:15:45]Well, despite earning really well professionally, he said he never truly felt free. In fact, one line from his post, it resonated deeply online. He compared the highly skilled immigrants in America to laborers in the Gulf country, whose mobility depends entirely on the employer. He said that many immigrants, they become trapped inside a system where changing [music] jobs, traveling internationally, or maybe planning long-term future, that becomes emotionally exhausting. [music] Eventually, he decided to return to India permanently rather than continue living under uncertainty.

[00:16:22]But, even after making that decision, he described the emotional pressure from relative and social comparisons back home. Well, his story struck a nerve because it kind of reflected the quiet emotional burnout many immigrants experience, but they rarely discuss about this publicly. And now, even employees inside America's biggest tech companies, they are beginning to feel that traditional career security mean no no longer exist.

[00:16:49]Well, for years, working at companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft, it represented the ultimate professional dream for tech workers around the globe.

[00:16:58]Those jobs offered high salaries, prestige, stability, and elite status within the technology industry, right?

[00:17:06]But, you know, that perception, that is rapidly changing. A European AI startup founder recently made headlines after publicly telling laid-off employees from Google, Meta, and other tech giants that the era of American Big Tech uh well, as the safe option, that's over.

[00:17:25]Well, that particular statement, it reflected a growing mood shift inside the global technology sector. Repeated round of layoffs over the last few years, it has damaged the [music] image of Silicon Valley as a guaranteed path to long-term career security. Even highly skilled workers earning massive salaries, they now worry uh constantly about restructuring, automation, and sudden job cuts. In the meantime, AI startups, they are aggressively trying to attract talent away from traditional tech giants. Companies across Europe and other tech uh global hubs, they are positioning themselves [music] faster-moving alternative to the large American corporation. Well, the startup behind the viral recruitment pitch plan to hire hundreds of employees >> [music] >> while expanding rapidly in the AI sector.

[00:18:15]Executives, they argue that that technology workers increasingly want meaningful jobs, innovation, rather than simply chasing prestige at large companies. You know, this changing atmosphere is now visible across workplace platforms where employees, they anonymously discuss fear, layoffs, and uncertainty every single day. And perhaps, here is a an app, it's called Blind. Blind, it is an anonymous workplace discussion platform popular among technology employees, and it has become a fascinating reflection of global work culture differences. In the US, workers frequently use Blind to discuss about layoffs, restructuring rumors, and fear about who may lose their job next. The platform's layoff tracker, it has become extremely active as anxiety spreads across Silicon Valley and the broader tech industry. But in South Korea, the same platform looks completely different. Instead of mass discussions about layoffs, Korean employees, they are more likely to discuss bonuses, promotions, compensation structure.

[00:19:23]Well, experts say that this contrast reflects deeper differentiation in labor system between two nations. In America, companies move quickly. Hiring can happen rapidly, but layoffs, that can also happen rapidly. Corporate reconstructing is often aggressive and immediate. But in South Korea, workforce changes, it tend to happen more gradually through early retirement program. In fact, reduced hiring, transfer, or quieter organizational changes. Neither system is perfect though, but the contrast that reveals how economic insecurity it is increasingly shaping America's corporate culture, specifically inside the technology sector. And yes, when you combine the AI disruption, layoff, immigration stress, and rising economic uncertainty together, one larger picture starts becoming visible. The American dream itself, that's changing. For decades, the United States represented ambitious opportunities and upward mobility for millions of Indians around the globe. But tonight's stories, they reveal a more complicated reality.

[00:20:28]Wealth now comes with tax fear. Skilled jobs come with layoff fear. Immigration comes with emotional exhaustion. And technology itself is beginning to reshape entire industries faster than the workers can adapt. And at the very same time, immigrants remain deeply important to the American economy. They are helping power hospitals, schools, technology firms, financial institutions across the country. America depends on immigrant talent even while political debates around immigration, it continue grows louder. The biggest question now is no longer whether opportunity exists in America or not. Ladies and gentlemen, the real question now is this: Who will feel secure in the future economy being built right now? Well, because let's be honest, the rules are changing fast, technology is changing fast, and millions of people are trying to keep up with building stable lives for themselves and their families in the US.

[00:21:26]This is Ritiya 3, you're watching [music] Skyline.