MUMBAI, Jan 17 — Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar (pic) says the Indian government should not impose service tax on the film industry as this will only increase actors’ financial burden.
Film and television actors will be levied a 12.36 per cent service tax on earnings from film, TV shows and endorsements effective this month, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
“Our industry is already paying huge taxes so the service tax should not happen. I am sure the industry will tell the government that whatever is happening is not right, we should try and remove it completely,” Akshay said on Wednesday.
Artistes are opposing the tax move, saying it would give them additional financial burden as they were already paying income tax.
“Few films are getting shelved due to the implementation of the service tax. Many producers have locked their doors and have walked away, only big producers and corporates are backing the films,” said Aksyay.
“If it (implementation of service tax) happens, this will be the biggest thing for the industry. It is not right, especially for the producers.”
If the 12.36 per cent service tax forges ahead, TV and film associations may go on a strike next month and will not be releasing any films during this period.
The strike is likely to affect films such as Bejoy Nambiar’s ‘David’, Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Special 26’, Remo D’Souza’s 3D dance film ‘Any Body Can Dance’, and Vivek Oberoi’s ‘Jayanta Bhai Ki Luv Story’.
On Jan 7, actors, directors and theatre owners held a hunger strike in Chennai demanding the service tax to be scrapped.
— BERNAMA
