Telugu film stars slam service tax

As part of a larger protest being staged by the entire South Indian film fraternity, Tollywood gathered at the AP Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC), Filmnagar, on Monday, to protest against the levy of service tax imposed by the Central Government. Industrywallahs claim that the 12.36 per cent service tax that came into affect on July 1, 2012, has been affecting the film industry adversely.After openly condemning the decision the whole of last year, the Telugu film industry seems to be in no mood to back out and say they are sending out a strong message with a fresh batch of protests this new year.
Murali Mohan, president of the Movie Artistes Association (MAA), says, ���Wherever you go, along with the bill, the customer gets taxed. But when it comes to the film industry, the consumer is the audience and we can���t hike the ticket prices, as decided by the government. However, the film industry is already paying entertainment tax to the government, apart from taxes like professional tax and income tax.
This service tax is an additional burden on the producers. We want to appeal to the finance minister to scrap this service tax completely and will continue this protest till we reach our goal,��� says Murali Mohan. Thammareddy Bharadwaj, President of APFCC, adds, ��� In our country, the film industry is already paying entertainment taxes, apart from other individual taxes. This additional tax is taking a huge toll on us. After paying all taxes, it���s hard for industry members to save money.���
Reiterating his point is actor Sunil. ���An actor���s shelf life is not very long. Even office boys in government offices get pension after retirement. But, an actor, who doesn���t know how long he will sustain in the industry, needs to save all that he can. Look at yesteryear actress Savithri, who did not have any money in the last days of her life.
Actor Venkatesh,who was one of the participants, also made a strong appeal. Other protesters included Jagapathi Babu, Nani, Thanish, Ali, Venu Madhav, Sunil, Rao Ramesh, Rama Naidu, Allu Aravind, VB Rajendra Prasad, Dil Raju, Nallamapalu Srinivas, Bellamkonda Suresh, Jeevitha Rajasekhar, Kadambari Kiran, Sagar and Teja among others.
This dharna was part of a larger protest staged on the same day by the other South Indian film industries ��� Kollywood, Sandalwood and Mollywood. ���The Tamil film industry even decided shut theatres and cancel all shootings,��� says Thammareddy, adding, ���We are going to take an appointment with the Central finance minister to discuss this issue. And if talks don���t prove fruitful, we will protest in a much bigger manner.���