Ai Weiwei’s design firm will use a closed hearing Today to challenge a $1.85 million tax bill delivered by authorities after the dissident was released from nearly three months’ detention.
Tax officials visited Ai’s studio late last month to say his design company Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd. owed $770,000 in back taxes from the last decade and $1.1 million in fines.
Company lawyer Pu Zhiqiang said Wednesday that the firm wanted the Beijing Local Taxation Bureau to provide proof of the alleged tax evasion and to return the company’s financial records seized during Ai’s detention.
Ai’s family previously denied he evaded any taxes and activists say the accusations were a false premise for detaining Ai. His supporters say he is being punished for his critical views of the Communist leadership and social problems. Before his own detention, he tracked the detention of other activists.
In a brief phone call Wednesday, Ai said he would probably not be allowed to attend Thursday’s hearing because only three people from the firm were allowed to be present — his wife, who is the legal representative of the company, a lawyer and an accountant.
Chinese authorities have said that although Ai was released, he is technically still under investigation for at least a year and could be brought in for further questioning at any time. Via:[ArtDaily]
