I'm a law abiding citizen: Big B on tax evasion claims

Mumbai: Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has responded to the allegations that he has used his star power to evade tax, saying that he is a "law abiding citizen".

On Friday, a news report shared the 73-year-old actor's "brush with the Income Tax Department right from 2009 and how his loans were paid off using offshore entities". In reaction to this, Amitabh said in a statement that the matter referred to in the article "is a matter that has been under investigation for the past six to seven years by the Income Tax and Enforcement Departments". "I have diligently responded to all the queries and notices sent by them. I am a law-abiding citizen of the country," he added. Amitabh also reiterated that he has no links with any of the offshore shipping companies in which he is supposed to be a director according to the leaked "Panama Papers", which emerged earlier this week. "I have not been a director on the board of the four companies as mentioned in an earlier report. I am happy that the government has instituted a thorough investigation on this issue, for, I myself, am keen to know how my name appears in connection with those four companies." After Amitabh's name appeared in the "Panama Papers" leaks, the Congress has demanded the removal of the veteran actor as the brand ambassador of Maharashtra's tiger preservation campaign. To this, he said: "I have been reading demands for my removal from the brand ambassadorship of the Maharashtra tiger preservation campaign. This is the prerogative of the government of Maharashtra, which I shall humbly respect." "Nonetheless, I wish to state that whatever the decision, I shall continue to work towards the social causes that I am associated with -- Tiger Preservation, Polio, Swachh Bharat, TB, Hepatitis B, Diabetes, Family Planning -- in my individual personal capacity," he added.