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BANGALORE:
Tamil Nadu's (TN) minister for finance (MoF) K Anbazhagan
announced during his state budget presentation speech a proposal
to withdraw entertainment tax on cable TV operations from
1 April 2008 and waive off outstanding entertainment tax dues
up to 31 March 2008.
As
per the MoF's budget statement for the year 2008-09, the TN
cable TV industry's pending entertainment dues are Rs 160
million.
The
minister also announced a welfare fund for television artists
to be set up and an increase in the government's pension to
journalists.
In
his speech pertaining to entertainment tax, the MoF said:
"As promised by the Hon'ble Chief Minister in the Conference
of Cable TV operators held at the Centenary Hall of Madras
University on 12.9.2007, an advisory body consisting of their
representatives have been formed. Accepting the request made
by cable TV operators in this conference, cable TV will be
exempt from payment of entertainment tax with effect from
1.4.2008. In addition, the entertainment tax arrears to the
tune of Rs 16 crores (Rs 160 million) outstanding as on 31.3.2008
will also be waived. Further, with a view to promoting the
welfare of Cable TV operators, a separate welfare board will
be created for them."
Earlier,
the government fixed Rs 6,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,000 to be
paid by each cable operator in the metropolitan, municipality,
and the small town and village, respectively, per month as
entertainment tax.
Moreover,
the TN government had taken a policy decision to start cable
TV operations by the state (called Arasu Cable TV Corporation
Ltd - ACTCL) as a multi-system operator (MSO) in Chennai metropolitan
area and as cable operator in the other areas of the state.
As
has been reported earlier, the TN government is in the process
of speeding the process for the launch of ACTCL's cable TV
operations by June 2008 and has floated a global works contract
tender for supply, installation, testing and commissioning
of digital cable TV head ends at Coimbatore, Tirunelveli,
Tiruvannamalai and Thanjavur for the first phase.
Indiantelevision.com
spoke to some MSOs and cable operators in Bangalore on their
reaction to the withdrawal of entertainment tax in neighbouring
state TN. "We are looking into it and are contemplating
on approaching the Karnataka governor for a similar withdrawal
and waiver," said a spokesperson from an MSO which has
operations in a large part of Karnataka.
"Last
year in Karnataka, the state government had rationalised the
payment of entertainment tax to a single point, so that either
a cable operator or an MSO pays tax. The rate of entertainment
tax in Karnataka is 6 per cent."
As
per the Karnataka commercial taxes department, the total entertainment
tax collections for the current fiscal up to 29 Feb 2008 were
Rs 633.7 million. This includes taxes collected from cinema
theatres running Kannada films remade from other language
films and non-Kannada films screened in cinema theatres in
the state.
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