A lot has been said and written about Vijay evading an entry tax on his imported car. In the last few months, people were divided over the issue and now the Tamil Nadu government has dropped the curtains on the issue.
The latest reports in Kollywood claim that the state government has told the Madras High Court that Vijay had paid the entire tax amount and the court adjourned the case to an unspecified date.
A few months ago, a single bench judge made a critical observation over Vijay seeking exemption of entry tax for his Rolls Royce Ghost Car. The vehicle was imported by the actor in 2012.
The Critical Remarks
Justice SM Subramaniam had slammed Vijay advising him to pay taxes as it plays a major role in nation-building exercises. "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 was 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, but they evade tax in real-life "which is not in consonance with the provisions of the Statutes."
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."
He had ordered Vijay to pay Rs 1 lakh fine for seeking tax exemption.
The actor then approached a division bench of Madras High Court to admonish the single bench judge's order and claimed that the actor was willing to pay the remaining 80 per cent of the fine amount.
The advocate Vijay Narayan requested the court to remove the critical comments made by the single bench judge and the imposed fine be deleted while requesting the division bench to pass a stay on the previous order. He reminded the court that the single judge had disposed of the cases without adverse remarks in similar cases.
