Kamal Haasan has said he will be forced to quit cinema if the GST rate for the entertainment industry is not slashed by at least half.
"We welcome GST and one India one tax. But this rate will ruin regional cinema," said the actor-filmmaker, urging Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to cut the GST rate to 12-15 per cen from 28 per cent.
"As an industry, we request that the GST rate be brought down to 12-15 per cent. At the present rate, I can't afford the tax and I'll be forced to quit. We should remember this is not East India Company," he said.
Kamal went on to add that Hollywood, Bollywood and regional cinema can't be put on the same slab.
"Regional cinema is the strength of Indian cinema. This diversity is the reason why this country is strong. That diversity has to be maintained. You cannot pressurise that. Regional cinema has been the pride of India", he said.
“The government shouldn’t forget that regional cinema has brought several laurels across international platforms for the country.
It is unfair to expect either a Tamil or any other regional film which gets a big release only in a single State to be charged tax on a par with a Hindi or English movie that gets a countrywide release in several screens,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment