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Singh is definitely king. At least for the tax man. Film star Akshay Kumar has emerged as the top taxpayer in Bollywood for 2008-09, narrowly pipping Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) to the next position. Kumar paid a total advance tax of Rs 31 crore in the financial year against Rs 12.5 crore in 2007-08, a whopping 148% more than what he paid in the previous financial year, thanks to his recent box office hits. That means Kumar’s total earnings for the period were a tad above Rs 100 crore, On the other hand, King Khan’s tax payout declined marginally — by 1.69% — to Rs 30.9 crore in 2008-09 compared to Rs 31.5 crore in the fiscal before. Together, Kumar and Khan account for nearly 60% of the total Rs 107 crore forked out by Bollywood’s top 10 advance taxpayers.

However, the biggest fall was Big B’s. Amitabh Bachchan made it to the bottom of the top 10 advance tax payers list, with a modest Rs 1.25 crore, sliding 74.77% from the previous financial year. His daughter-in-law, was 6th on the list, paying more advance tax than both the Bachchans. While she handed over Rs 4.75 crore in advance tax (10.46% more than 2007-08), Abhishek Bachchan paid Rs 3.2 crore in 2008-09, marking a decline of 42.86%.

Salman Khan’s earnings saw the second-highest growth after Kumar in terms of percentage — 107.41% more than last year. But in terms of the actual amount, he made it only to third place with a total advance tax payout of Rs 14 crore.

Saif Ali Khan and his lady love Kareena Kapoor also figure in the list of top 10 Bollywood taxpayers. Khan paid Rs 8.63 crore (an impressive 64% more than last year) while Kapoor — the only other female film star to make it to the list besides Rai-Bachchan — forked out Rs 3.7 crore, nearly 2.78% more than last year.