Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan (File|AFP)
CHENNAI: Actor Kamal Haasan on Friday became the face of anger against the proposed 28% Goods and Services Tax on the regional entertainment industry, saying if it is not rolled back he would be forced to quit cinema.
The industry has been placed in the highest tax bracket, popularly called sin tax.
“We are an art form and to put us in that bracket is a big insult,” said L Suresh, the president of the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce.
Kamal too saw in it a personal insult. “I came into this industry when I was three-and-a-half years old, and I learnt to speak in cinema. Art is important to culture and in South India, so many Chief Ministers have come from this industry. How then can you proclaim cinema to be sinful and levy on us the highest taxes? I am supposed to pay income tax over and above this. I see this as a punishment. If this persists, I will be forced to quit cinema.”
In a statement, the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce said that when taxation was implemented with similar uniformity in Europe, Hollywood ended up destroying films from countries like Spain, France and Italy. A similar move in India, the statement said, would kill regional content, and therefore a differential tax rate for regional and Hindi/international films is a must. Given that the government has placed 18% GST on creative art, regional cinema too should be placed within that framework, it said.
Kamal expanded on the impact of regional cinema: “Regional cinema has always been the pride of India, and has bagged the most awards for the country. This is achieved by films made on 1/10th the budget of a Hindi film. We are not against Hindi, but you cannot bring a monoculture in a diverse country like India.”
SIFFCC requested that the regional cinema GST be reduced from 28% to 18%.
Source: The New Indian Express