Tamil superstar Rajinikant took an initiative to make an appeal to the Tamil Nadu government to remove the 30% local body tax levied after the commencement of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as nearly 1,000 cinema halls remain shut in the state due to the stand-off. The issue has also been raised by the veteran actor Kamal Haasan who hit out at the state government for not supporting the film industry.
Neighbouring states like Kerala have totally resisted from levying anymore state tax on cinema over and above GST. Karnataka has gone even further to facilitate the well-being of the film industry. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are also doing their best for their film industries. It is only the Tamil Nadu government that has brought it (entertainment tax) to 30% as per the statement by the actor
The president of the South Indian Film Chamber L Suresh also gave his statement about the matter that the tax imposed by the government is unethical. According to him it amounts to double taxation. According to him the state tax need to be completely imposed.
The issue has also been raised in the state assembly with the opposition raising it. Congress Legislature Party leader K R Ramasamy also raised the issue. As per the talks going around, the representatives of the association and others, including South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, South Indian Artistes’ Association (SIAA) and Tamil Film Producers Council, had met Palaniswami regarding the tax issue.
Keeping in mind the livelihood of Lakhs of people in the tamil film industry, I sincerely request the TN GOVT to seriously consider our plea
— Rajinikanth (@superstarrajini) July 4, 2017
GST is one of the landmark reform of India which boosts up the economy and the business sector across the nation. And it intends to replace the national and state tax being levied with an uniformed tax regime.
