More than 100 cinema houses in Mumbai plan to down their shutters indefinitely from May 16 to protest against a host of taxes levied by the Maharashtra government, industry officials said on Wednesday.
The strike will mean closure of more than 850 cinemas across the state if the government does not lower the taxes in a business already hit by a sharp fall in gate collections.
The government levies an entertainment tax of 60 per cent, which exhibitors say is too steep at a time when the industry is facing losses. They want the tax to be cut by half.
Cinema owners were burdened with a range of taxes including show tax, advertising tax and property tax, Nester D'Souza, president of the Cinematograph Exhibitors' Association of India, told reporters.
"This is an industry that has exhausted all means of getting revenues and we have been compelled to take this drastic step to survive," he said.
Reuters