Kerala takes lead in giving relief to cinema theatres, waives 50% entertainment tax.

Taking a lead in alleviating the financial stress of the entertainment industry, the state government of Kerala has decided to reduce the entertainment tax levied on theatres by a whopping 50 per cent. The reduction in the entertainment tax will be applicable for a period of three months starting from January 2021 and last till the end of March 2021. In addition to the entertainment tax waiver by 50 per cent, the state government has also decided to reduce the standard fixed electricity bill charges by 50 per cent for a period of 10 months when the cinema theatres were closed during the Coronavirus lockdown.

The development was announced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, news agency ANI reported. Vijayan in his press conference also announced that the validity of cinema theatres in the state has been extended by the state government without any additional charges. Kerala is one of the very few governments in the country that has taken steps to alleviate the financial losses borne by the entertainment industry which was one of the worst affected industries due to the Coronavirus lockdown.

The hospitality sector along with the entertainment sector have been demanding some relief from the Central government and various state governments in the state. Several entertainment industry associations have demanded fiscal support from the Central government but the central government has only provided credit guarantee and other liquidity facilities to the industry so far.

The financial stress in the cinema industry deteriorated further due to the release of a plethora of films and television series on the Over The Top (OTT) platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hotstar among others. Reluctance on the part of the audience to visit cinema halls in the aftermath of the Coronavirus Unlock has also affected the finances of the entertainment industry in a big way.