Actor Vijay has denied allegations of tax evasion after the Income Tax Department officials raided his house along with other prominent film personalities a day before the release of his film ‘Puli’ on Wednesday.
In a statement here on Tuesday, the actor described as false and untrue the media reports that he had not paid income tax for the last 5 years. “I have submitted the details of my income and assets particulars to the authorities until the current financial year. I have also paid my wealth tax, professional tax etc,” he said.
He said that he would co-operate with the Income Tax Department to clear the air. “The allegations are baseless and untrue.”
When asked for a comment, a senior income tax official, who had co-ordinated the raids, told The Hindu that Vijay was found to be liable for tax evasion and they would come out with a statement soon. “The actor had evaded tax. It will be collected soon.” Last Wednesday, IT officials raided premises of 10 prominent personalities in the film industry including Vijay, Nayanthara, Samantha and some film financiers.
After the raids, the officials said that there had been tax evasion to the tune of Rs. 25 cr. After raiding 35 places in Chennai, Madurai, Kochi, Trivandrum and Hyderabad, the tax officials revealed that they recovered Rs. 2 crore in cash and Rs. 2 crore worth of gold.
