Tennis star Sania Mirza, who was summoned for alleged tax evasion, has decided to pay tax on the Rs 1-crore she had received from the Telangana government for being the 'brand ambassador' of the state.
On Monday, the Service Tax department had issued Mirza a notice asking her to explain why she had failed to pay the tax amounting to Rs 20 lakh, which includes both tax and fine for delaying the payment. Initially it was thought that Mirza would fight the case in court, arguing that the amount was tax exempted. However, latest reports claim that the tennis star has agreed to pay the tax.
Mirza was made the brand ambassador of the newly formed Telangana state by chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on July 22, 2014.
Interestingly, the alleged tax evasion came to the notice of the authorities almost two-and-half years after the said amount was awarded.
The news comes in the backdrop of the Centre tightening noose on tax evaders and those in possession of unaccounted money. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had criticised in his recent Budget speech that tax evasion was a way of life in India.