BOI:Dabangg2 could not take Dabangg Brand further - Page 7

Making tall claims of their films earning R100 crore may become a thing of the past if government's new rule of putting an additional service tax of 12.36 per cent on a film's earning becomes a reality. The news has upset the industry to the extent that the Film and Television Producers Guild of India has decided to go on strike if the government enforces the tax on them. The tax is expected to be effective from this month.

"We are already paying entertainment tax, TDS (tax deducted at source) and income tax and now this additional tax is meant to exploit us further. Ab hume lagta hai…ye humare biwi bachchon par bhi tax laga denge. If this tax comes into force then it will end the film industry, as the movie making will become expensive which will lead to high-ticket prices followed by increase in piracy. Ultimately this will bring an end to the 100 crore era," says filmmaker Sunil Bohra.

Tanuj Garg, CEO of Balaji Films agrees with Bohra, "This (service tax) will only be counter-productive. It will force people to avoid disclosing real incomes. It will become difficult not just for small producers but also but also corporates. Projects will become unviable and people will stop investing in films."

Last month, Superstar Rajinikanth went on a token hunger strike along with other Tamil actors to urge the government to remove the service tax with immediate effect. He said that those who evaded taxes should be to be acted upon. corporates. Projects will become unviable and people will stop investing in films."

Filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt says that in the year that the industry is celebrating its 100th year, this is uncalled for: "This is the most antifilm industry government since independence. If the government doesn't listen, we will be compelled to go on a strike." Actor Akshay Kumar, too, recently hinted at a strike. "This strike will tell the government that whatever is happening is not right," he had said.