Tamil Nadu Govt reduces Local Body Entertainment Tax, ticket prices to come down

In what comes as a much-needed respite to the Tamil film industry, the Tamil Nadu government in its new order had cut down the Local Body Entertainment Tax from 8 per cent to 4 per cent. This move comes ahead of the release of the much-anticipated Kamal Haasan-starrer Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam where they have reunited after 38 years.

The order comes a few months after Kamal Haasan had appealed to Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin to consider reducing the state entertainment tax on films, highlighting the industry's woes after the COVID-19 pandemic and rising production costs.

Acknowledging the order, Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) expressed its heartfelt gratitude to Chief Minister MK Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and Minister for Tamil Development and Information MP Saminathan for taking the decision. They mentioned the challenges the industry had been facing, saying, "At a time when film success rates are declining by 8 per cent, cinema tickets are already subject to 18 per cent GST. In addition to this, an 8 per cent Local Authorities Entertainment Tax (LBET) has been levied exclusively in Tamil Nadu for the past eight years, since 2017. The Tamil Film Active Producers Association has long been appealing to the Tamil Nadu government to remove this additional tax."

The government order reducing the LBET from 8.6 per cent to 4 per cent, was issued under the Tamil Nadu Local Authorities Entertainments Tax Act, 2017. Following the move, ticket prices are expected to significantly reduce, bringing more audience to theatres and benefit producers and distributors.