The budget brought smiles to Sandalwood. Most of the demands put forward by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) were fulfilled in the budget.
The budget brought smiles to Sandalwood. Most of the demands put forward by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) were fulfilled in the budget.
The film industry’s main demand was extending Rs10 lakh subsidy to 75 films a year. Currently, the government is giving Rs10 lakh subsidy for 50 films a year. But Sandalwood is producing 130 to 150 films a year. Citing various reasons, KFCC wanted the government to extend the subsidy to 75 films and the chief minister BS Yeddyurappa agreed.
Another demand of the film industry was exemption of VAT on film activities. Now the state is charging 5% VAT on film activities. The film chamber sought its exemption like in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. This demand was also met. The film chamber wanted to renovate Kanteerava Studio. In his budget speech, the chief minister announced Rs5 crore for the renovation of the studio.
In another major relief to the film industry, the chief minister gave tax exemption on leasing of feature films and sale of copy rights related to those films. He exempted distributors of feature films from registration. The state government will offer Rs5 crore for an international film festival to be held in Bangalore.
Welcoming the state budget, KFCC president Basanth Kumar Patil said the industry is grateful to the chief minister for fulfilling their demands.
Former president of KFCC KV Chandrashekar said extending the subsidy to 75 films will help producers and VAT exemption will help distributors, but the state government has forgotten film exhibitors. Already, the number of theatres has come down from 1,000 to 500.
“Exhibitors are facing problems. Although they sought financial help for renovation of theatres, the state government has not considered their appeal. This will put the industry in trouble,” he said.
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