The Madras High Court has come down heavily on actor Vijay while dismissing his writ petition seeking exemption of entry tax for his Rolls Royce Ghost Car which is imported from England in 2012. He has been asked to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund.
Justice's Critical Words
Justice SM Subramaniam criticised the actor for failing to mention his profession in his petition and reminded Vijay that actors of his stature should promptly pay taxes as they are seen as role models.
The Madras High Court observed that taxes play a big role in nation-building exercise as it helps the government to carry out social welfare programs. "In the State of Tamil Nadu, cine heroes have risen as rulers of the State and therefore, the people are under the impression that they are real heroes. Thus, they are not expected to behave like reel heroes. Tax evasion is to be construed as an anti-national habit, attitude and mindset and unconstitutional," the court is quoted as saying by The Hindu.
The judge stated that the heroes portray themselves as the champions of justice in films and slam the corruption in our system in films, but they evade tax in real-life "which is not in consonance with the provisions of the Statutes."
In the petition, Vijay had said that the authorities at Regional Transport Office had asked him to get a new registration mark by paying an extraordinary entry tax and sought tax exemption.
Concluding Statement
The justice stated that avoiding payment for over eight years is not appreciable. It concluded, "Even philosophically, accumulation of wealth or possessing the world's prestigious car would not be of no assistance for a better life in our great nation, as our country is enriched with culture and social values... The reputed persons of this great nation should realize that the money reaches to them is from the poor man's blood and from their hard-earned money and not from the sky."
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