Two weeks after 28 per cent of Goods and Services Tax ( GST) for cinema was announced, actor Kamal Haasan and the Tamil film industry have come down heavily on the ruling government at the Centre.
In a press conference in Chennai, Haasan slammed the Centre for “acting like the East India Company” and threatened to quit cinema.
As per the present rates, the entertainment tax slabs in Tamil Nadu varies from 12 per cent to 30 per cent. When the GST will be in place, the film industry will have to pay a uniform 28 per cent tax. This means the theatre owners, including multiplex and single screens owners, will have to pay the same tax. The maximum ticket rates will hit an high of Rs 153.60 from the existing Rs 120.
"I was promised an easy life when the Republic of India was formed," said Haasan. “This is the colonial manner of taxation. Why should I work for the government. I work for my own sustainability and it is not getting easier. I will have to quit the industry if I am on the highest tax slab," he added.
The actor said with such a high level of taxation, other regional cinemas will face the same plight as Marathi cinema, which was pushed to the sidelines by the Hindi film industry.
Addressing the media along with Haasan, theatre owners in Tamil Nadu too slammed the Centre, saying the entire regional film industry in India is aghast at the 28 per cent GST imposed. It is extremely painful to note that our industry has been tagged along with sinful industries like gambling, horse racing, etc, they said, adding such taxation would kill regional cinema.
Regional cinema has been imposed a 28 per cent tax along with Hindi and Hollywood cinema. Out of total 2,100 odd films made in India last year, only 400 films were made in Hindi. The rest are in regional languages.
“By placing the regional cinema along with the national cinema, all the regional cinemas will get crushed and ultimately the national and the international cinema will rule the Indian market. We very strongly oppose placing the regional cinema along with national and international cinema and we are making a plea to Government of India that the regional cinema tax must be lowered to 12 per cent or 18 per cent,” said Abirami Ramanathan, owner of Abhirami Mega Mall.
Stating that similar happenings occurred in Europe when all other language cinema like Spanish, Italian, French and others were killed by the Hollywood movies, the theatre owners said they foresee a similar circumstance, if the Government of India imposes the 28 per cent tax.
