The members of Tamil film industry will be observing a token fast on January 7, 2013 to protest against the central government’s service tax. They say that the 12.36 per cent service tax on the various crafts has been affecting the film and television industry in a very bad way. The industry members had gone on a one-day strike on February 23, 2012, protesting against the government’s proposal, but the government did not budge and the new taxation came into effect on July 1, 2012.
Sarath Kumar, president of the South Indian Film Artistes’ Association said that though the tax imposition has been effective since July, they wanted to protest again as the next annual budget session is about to start in a few months.
The members say that the tax has increased the production costs heavily. A representation of the industry’s demands will also be sent to the union finance minister.
Members of Tamil Film Producers’ Council (TFPC), the Federation of Film Employees’ Federation of South India (FEFSI) and the South Indian Film Chamber Of Commerce and the associations for television artists will be participating in the strike. However, the theatres are expected to function as usual on Jan 7.
