Income Tax - Mahesh Bhupathi's ball out of Court
MAHESH Bhupathi has his way with his bat and ball and the tennis court, but he found that the Courts of Law are a different ball game altogether.
Bhupathi had reimbursed his tennis coach father an amount of Rs. 28.5 lakhs,as per an agreement, on which he wanted exemption from Income Tax. The Karnataka High Court was not impressed and observed, “It is the pious and moral obligation of the father to maintain the son during his minority or till he independently starts earning.If really there was an agreement between the father and son,such agreement would have come into existence before training the son by the father.In this case,the agreement has been entered into after the assessee (Bhupathi) started getting remuneration from the tennis association,which only shows that the agreement has come into existence only to defeat the tax liability” (See www.taxindiainternational.com for HC order)
Aggrieved Bhupathi took his bat (battle) to the Supreme Court, where also he faced defeat. The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed his SLP.