Kollywood Star Kamal Haasan on Friday asked the central government to cut down on Goods and Service Tax (GST) to keep floating the regional cinema. The actor requested the Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley to reduce tax to around 12% – 15% as he believes the higher taxes levied on regional cinema will ruin it completely.
GST or Goods and Services Tax is set to be launched next month and aims at replacing a tangled web of central and state levies with a single tax. As the GST Council will meet for another in a series of important meetings to decide rates, Kamal Haasan thought it was the right time to open and express himself about the issue.
He also threatened that he will be “forced to quit cinema” if the GST rates for the entertainment industry is not slashed. He said, “I will have to quit the industry if I am on the tax slab that is the highest. I will not work for the government, what is this? Is this the East India Company?”
For the film industry, the entertainment and services taxes will be replaced by a single 28 per cent slab which, says Kamal Haasan, is steep. “We welcome GST and one India one tax. But this rate will ruin regional cinema,” he said.
About Prime Minister Narendra Modi implementing demonetization drive in November last year, Haasan told that implementation of GST will take us two steps back. “Demonetization was introduced to curb black money but this(GST) move will take us back 2 steps,” he said.
The entertainment and other taxes vary in different parts of India. For Hindi films, 28% is a drop from the current rate in cities like Mumbai. “Regional films, Hollywood films, and Hindi films cannot be put on the same slab and film tickets can’t be fixed like an essential service,” said the actor.
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Haasan also urged the central Finance Minister to place the issue before the GST council meeting which is set to take place tomorrow. With Prime Minister, Narendra Modi promised to implement GST on July 1 which will bring a uniform system of taxation.
GST, India’s biggest tax overhaul, is set to debut on July 1. A small list of goods will be exempt from taxes while the rest will be taxed at the approved rates of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. Complete information about GST Prices And GSTPricelist will be updated. Stay tuned to this website for information about GST