100-year-old taxpayer becomes citizen number one

HATS OFF: PC Chidambaram sent Engineer a congratulatory note earlier this month.

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Pune: Filing your tax return wasn’t as easy as it is now. However, FD Engineer, a man who is 100 years old, has been filing his income tax returns since 1949.

Born in a small town in Secunderabad, he tirelessly coordinates with his chartered accountant friend over the phone to make sure the tax returns are filed in time every year.

“When I was 17-18 years old, I felt that I was a very bad boy,” says FD Engineer. It is not without reason that he is the citizen number one. This bad boy is now the nation's pride. At the grand old age of 100 years, Framroz Darabsha Engineer is the country's oldest taxpayer and a real inspiration to an entire population of working professionals.

According to the IT records, this year too, he filed tax returns of 7,500 rupees. But the zesty centenarian dismisses all the sudden attention with a shrug.

Engineer says that he pays all his taxes religiously as he fears God and can do nothing to cheat anyone.

The Finance Minister PC Chidambaram sent Engineer a congratulatory note earlier this month. Calling it a unique achievement, the minister applauded Engineer for being a model citizen.

“He is disciplined in every field of life. Very many years ago, money wasn’t as important as it is today. So it wasn’t a big deal for him to pay his taxes,” says Zurie Mody Engineer's Daughter.

Adding on, she says that her father believes in doing his duties.” He says that if we shrug our duties, the government will be unable to function successfully and will fail to help us,” says Zurie Mody, Engineer's Daughter.

Engineer’s health might fail him, but his convictions remain strong.