Theatre owners to meet today

CHENNAI: Miffed over the recent hike in entertainment tax on cinema tickets across Tamil Nadu, theatres owners in the State will on Tuesday hold talks with the heads of film bodies to decide on their next move.They are likely to seek the support of film bodies like the Film Employees’ Federation of South India (FEFSI) and the South Indian Film Artistes Association to appeal to the Chief Minister to reconsider the hike and to give her nod for an increase in ticket rates. An amendment to the Tamil Nadu Entertainment Tax Act, 1939 that was passed in the Assembly on September 14 states that the tax on cinema tickets would be increased.The Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association on Monday revealed that entertainment tax charged by theatres had, as a result, doubled.Till recently, 15 per cent was charged as tax in theatres within Corporation and Municipality limits while 10 per cent was the tax rate for the rest of the State.According to R Paneerselvam, joint secretary of the association,  “If the taxes are doubled, we will have to part with `36 on every ticket costing `120.” However, this tax burden will not be passed on to movie-goers, as ticket prices cannot be hiked beyond `120 as per a GO passed during DMK rule, he said.There have been several demands to remove the ceiling for ticket prices as multiplexes in other states have been given a free hand in ticket pricing, he said.