The Tamil Nadu Cabinet has approved the draft of the Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017 and it would soon be introduced in the state assembly, according to Finance Minister D Jayakumar.
"State Cabinet has approved the draft Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017," he said at the GST Council meeting in Delhi, chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today. "We will be introducing it in the State Legislative Assembly very soon for consideration and passage," he added.
A copy of Jayakumar's speech was released by the Tamil Nadu government.
Listing out some suggestions before the Council, seeking revision of rates for some sectors, he urged it to provide lower tax rate for films made in the "local language" as the proposed 28 per cent would adversely impact the industry.
"Tamil Nadu has been exempting films made in the local language from the purview of Entertainment Tax. The levy of tax at 28 percent on all films will adversely impact the film industry in the State", he said.
"We urge that films made in local language of the state should be levied a lower rate of tax", he said.
Tamil film icon Kamal Haasan recently said that regional cinema is the pride of the country and cannot be pressurised through taxes.
Regional cinema is the strength of Indian cinema. This diversity is the reason why this country is strong. That diversity has to be maintained. You cannot pressurise that. Regional cinema has been pride of IndiaKamal Haasan, Actor and Producer
Also Read: Cinema Owners Fear Additional Tax Over And Above GST In Some States
Jayakumar also sought a lower uniform tax rate for the textile sector.
"Millions of people are dependent on this sector for their livelihood. The entire population consumes this product. Considering the impact on the public in general, we would suggest that the goods falling in the entire textile chain be taxed uniformly under GST at the lowest rate", he said.
Also Read: GST Council Increases Tax Slabs To Six To Accommodate Gold & Diamonds
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