Members of the Tamil Film Producers Council, Nadigar Sangam and Theatre Owners Association in Tamil Nadu met the State government officials regarding removal of entertainment tax levied by the local bodies, uniform pricing of tickets in all cities for A/C and non A/C theatres and flexible pricing on Tuesday. The resolution of these issues is expected after the proposed meeting with Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
“We are very positive. We have been asked to come for one more meeting, it will hopefully happen tomorrow or day after,” said actor Vishal, who is the president, Tamil Film Producers Council. “We have asked for complete removal of entertainment tax and have requested the government to fix pricing for theatres as A/C and non A/C – irrespective of whether they are in town, villages or cities.
Representatives of the film industry will be happy only when the State government removes the entertainment tax completely. “It will not be possible to pay anything more than GST as it will not be feasible to conduct business at such high rates. The officials were positive and we hope it can be worked out,” said producer S.R. Prabhu, treasurer, Tamil Film Producers Council.
The sources further say that the Tamil film industry will have no option but to harden their stance if the government sticks to its decision to levy extra taxes apart from GST.
“It makes no sense for other language producers to release movies in Tamil Nadu any more. With 58% (28% GST + 20% entertainment tax + 10% distributors share) of a ticket’s value going away, the producers have no chance of making any profits,” said a multiplex owner.
