Taxmen raid UP YouTuber who earned ₹1 crore from videos

Taslim, who hails from UP's Bareilly, runs a YouTube channel called ‘Trading Hub 3.0’ through which he shares videos related to the share market.

The Income-Tax (I-T) department has raided a Uttar Pradesh-based YouTuber over the charges of alleged tax evasion on his income earned through hosting YouTube shows. During the raid, ₹24 lakh cash along with gold jewellery and other valuables items were found from his residence in Bareilly.

The department came across the activities of Taslim after the police shared the information about his financial activities. (Representative image)

Taslim, who hails from UP's Bareilly, runs a YouTube channel called ‘Trading Hub 3.0’ through which he shares videos related to the share market. He has been running his channel for the last few years and had earned nearly ₹1 crore, news agency PTI reported. The YouTube channel currently has 1 lakh subscribers with 58 videos.

The department came across the activities of Taslim after the police shared the information about his financial activities. The I-T sleuths have also recorded the influencer's statement and is looking into his transactions, bank accounts and the income tax returns (ITRs) filed by him in the past.

The probe is still on and no conclusions have been arrived at as of now, a senior I-T department officer told PTI.

However, Taslim's family has denied the claims of tax evasion. His brother, Feroze, claimed that he has been running a YouTube channel for almost five years and has paid income tax on the money he has earned.

While speaking to NDTV, Feroz said, "We do not do any wrong work. We run our YouTube channel, from which we earn a good income, this is the truth. This raid is a well-planned conspiracy."

This development comes weeks after the tax department raided about 10 YouTubers and other social media influencers in Kerala, mostly young artists and actors, PTI reported.

Earlier in June, the I-T department had launched a probe against several social media influencers and content creators who were allegedly not disclosing their income and profits commensurate with their earnings.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the administrative authority of the I-T department, had introduced a new TDS provision last year regarding benefits received in a business or profession. A new section, 194R, was brought up in the I-T Act, which requires deduction of 10% TDS for those getting any benefit or perquisite exceeding ₹20,000 in a year, arising from the business or profession.