Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that no decision has been taken to grant tax waiver to the film “The Kerala Story” and that he was yet to watch the film.
“I am yet to watch the firm, no decision has yet been taken to grant tax waiver to the Kerala Story,” said CM Sawant
Madhya Pradesh was the first state to make the film tax-free; chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said last week the film should be ‘watched by all’. On Tuesday Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath tweeted the film had been granted a similar exemption in his state.
Last year, Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ – an equally controversial movie accused by its critics of furthering a right-wing agenda – was similary backed by BJP-ruled states, including UP, MP, Haryana, Karnataka (which votes in an Assembly election Wednesday), and Goa.
The Maharashtra Government a few days back also declared a tax waiver on The Kerala Story.
The makers of ‘The Kerala Story’ are being given police protection in response to a death threat letter addressed to them. Director Sudipto Sen and producer Vipul Amritlal Shah were threatened to be killed in the letter, following which Mumbai police has filed a case.
Earlier West Bengal banned the movie saying that it would create hate and violence in the state.
Before the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017, each state in India had its own entertainment tax rate. The entertainment tax was waived if a film was granted tax-free status and that would mean that tickets would be available at significantly prive.
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