Artist Ai Weiwei says court allows his tax lawsuit

BEIJING – Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei says a court in Beijing has accepted a lawsuit his design firm has filed against a tax office for levying a $2.4 million bill on his company.

Ai said Wednesday the court accepted a lawsuit filed by his company, Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., against the No. 2 Inspection Squad of the Beijing tax bureau. Ai says the tax office violated laws in handling witnesses, evidence and company accounts in his case.

He says the court will announce a hearing date later but it must take place within three months.

Ai was detained for three months last year during an overall crackdown on dissent. Following his release, authorities demanded his design company pay $2.4 million in back taxes and fines.