The latest official data on income tax returns for individuals earning over Rs 1 crore annually in FY24 has delivered a stunning surprise; Andhra Pradesh, long considered a backward state struggling without a capital, has outperformed Telangana by a huge margin.
As per the figures, Andhra Pradesh reported 5,340 Rs 1 crore-plus earners, making it the second highest in South India after Tamil Nadu (6,288), while Telangana reported only 1,260; not even one-fourth of AP’s tally.
The numbers are counterintuitive, especially since Hyderabad is widely known as India’s luxury housing hotspot, selling tens of thousands of premium villas and gated apartments each year.
This raises a burning question; Where are those high-spending buyers in the tax records?
Even if one-tenth of Hyderabad’s luxury homebuyers declared their true incomes, they should logically appear in the Rs 1 crore-plus category.
Instead, the data paints Telangana as lagging far behind Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka (2,816), and even Bihar (2,576). Shockingly, Jammu & Kashmir, with just 2,600, fares better than Telangana.
Karnataka too presents a puzzle. Despite Bengaluru being a global IT hub with thousands of top-paid tech professionals and business tycoons, the state has declared just 2,816 crore-plus earners, less than half of Andhra Pradesh’s number.
The revelations are set to fuel speculation over possible large-scale tax evasion, underreporting of income, or structural disparities in how wealth is captured in official records.
For Andhra Pradesh, the data is a morale booster, contradicting its “backward” image and positioning it as a state with a thriving affluent class.
For Telangana, however, it is nothing short of a rude shock, raising tough questions about transparency, compliance and the real story behind Hyderabad’s visible wealth.
