Mumbai, June 24: Film and TV producers today sought a complete exemption of entertainment tax on the Hindi film industry in Maharashtra.
“Maharashtra has the highest tax in the country. We feel that the Hindi film industry belongs to Mumbai but unfortunately the entertainment tax here is the highest,” Film & Television Producers Guild of India CEO Kulmeet Makkar said.
“Punjab and Rajasthan have completely done away with taxes, but the entertainment tax charged by the Maharashtra government is a whopping 45 per cent,” he said. Earlier in the day, a group of Guild members met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and discussed issues related to the film and television industry.
In 2013, Bollywood will be celebrating 100 years of its existence. We want to celebrate another hundred years without getting bogged down by tax-related issues, Makkar stated.
Elaborating on the plan to have a film museum in Mumbai, he said “the chief minister was very keen on the project. It will become a tourist attraction.”
Veteran filmmakers Yash Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt and general secretary of Cine Workers Association Dinesh Chaturvedi were also present in the meeting. PTI
