GST: Kamal Haasan thanks Rajinikanth for asking Tamil Nadu government to rethink double tax on movie tickets
After Rajinikath tweeted his request, Kamal Haasan said, "Let's request first as gentlemen should. Then we shall see."
Actor Rajinikanth today requested the Tamil Nadu government to rethink its controversial decision to impose a municipal tax on movie tickets over and above the recently-launched Goods and Services Tax.
Keeping in mind the livelihood of Lakhs of people in the tamil film industry, I sincerely request the TN GOVT to seriously consider our plea- Rajinikanth (@superstarrajini) July 4, 2017
On Tuesday, hundreds of cinema halls across Tamil Nadu were closed for a second consecutive day in protest of the tax.
Rajinikanth's tweet prompted his Kollywood colleague Kamal Haasan to express his gratitude. But thanks wasn't all he said.
Thanks Rajni avaragaLay for voicing your concern. Lets request first as gentlemen should. Then we shall see. @superstarrajini & TN .Govt.- Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) July 5, 2017
GST unites India's states and Union territories into one single market, and is expected, among other things, to improve ease of doing business and attract foreign investment. Under the new regime, a tax of 18 per cent will be levied on movie tickets that cost less than Rs 100. For tickets that cost more than Rs 100, it's 28 per cent.
And that's just GST. The municipal (entertainment) tax of 30 per cent that Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have tweeted about will be levied in addition to the nationwide tax.
It's worth noting that Rajinikanth, who made his Twitter debut in 2014, tweets very sparingly. He's posted just 64 messages on the social networking site since he joined it.
As for Kamal Haasan, he has spoken out against both the municipal tax, and the fact that the entertainment industry comes under the 28 per cent GST slab.
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