Kamal Haasan threatens to quit cinema, says GST rate will ruin film industry

Kamal Haasan threatens to quit cinema, says GST rate will ruin film industry

Kamal Haasan has come out strong against the proposed 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the regional entertainment industry, saying he would be forced to quit cinema if the GST rate for the entertainment industry is not slashed by at least half.

GST is set to be launched next month and it aims at replacing a tangled web of central and state levies with a single tax. Kamal Haasan and other senior members of the film fraternity including South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce President Kalyan were speaking to media after discussing the impact of the proposed GST slabs for the film industry.

“We welcome GST and one India one tax. But this rate will ruin regional cinema. If I can’t afford the tax I’ll have to quit. I will not work for the government… what is this? Is this the East India Company?“, asked Kamal Haasan.

He also reminded the government that it’s the regional cinema which brings India recognition at various international platforms.

“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. 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 one tenth the budget of a Hindi film. We are not against Hindi, but you cannot bring a monoculture in a diverse country like India. Diversity is the reason why this country is strong. You cannot pressurise regional cinema through taxation.”

GST, India’s biggest tax overhaul, is set to be initiated on July 1. A small list of goods will be exempted from taxes while the rest will be taxed at the approved rates of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent.

The South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce in a statement appealed to the Centre to reduce the GST rate on entertainment tax to 18 percent from the proposed 28 percent, copyright sale rate from 12 percent to five per cent and the slab for services like technicians and artistes to 12 percent from 18 percent.