A.R. Rahman Served Notice By Madras High Court In 8 Year Old Case Alleging He Evaded Taxes On Rs. 3.47 Crores Income

Oscar winning music composer A.R. Rahman is facing charges of evading taxes and the Income Tax department has moved to the Madras High Court against him. It has been alleged that he routed income of over Rs. 3 crores rupees through his charitable trust to avoid paying taxes.

The department found discrepancies in Rahman’s tax filing from the year 2011-12 and the Madras High Court has now issued a notice to the composer asking him to explain his side of the story in the case according to a Times of India report.

Reportedly the singer and composer made Rs. 3.47 crores from a deal with a U.K. based company for which he was to compose ringtones and the income was transferred to his trust A.R. Rahman Foundation’s account.

The 8-year-old matter was first raised by the IT department in the year 2015 accusing him of routing the payment through his trust which is clearly not a donation. The singer had then moved to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in Chennai who had dropped the case stating that there was no evidence that the income was taxable.

The AR Rahman foundation is the composer’s non-profit organization started in 2009 to raise funds for the eduction of the underprivileged children and to raise funds for the times of disasters.