TN Double taxation will make the industry commercially unviable: Siddharth Roy Kapur

Siddharth Roy Kapur, as the president of The Film and Television Producers Guild of India, has expressed serious concern over the double taxation rule announced by the state government of Tamil Nadu. 

The decision of the Tamil Nadu government to levy Local Bodies Entertainment Tax (LBET) over and above GST is a huge setback for the film industry. Effective July 1, the film industry is liable to GST in two rate slabs of 18% and 28% and now the industry is in complete dismay having learned that the Tamil Nadu government has decided to impose LBET of 30% making the overall tax rate of nearly 60% depending on the ticket pricing.

This move of double taxation by Tamil Nadu government will not only defeat the very purpose of introducing GST as a progressive ‘One Nation One Tax” regime but shall also make the industry commercially unviable leading to closure of cinema halls and loss of jobs. 

The Film and Television Producers Guild of India makes a fervent submission to the government of Tamil Nadu and all other state governments not to impose additional LBET on films pertaining to any language over and above GST which is already in the highest slab of 28%