Kathmandu, February 5
Film halls across the country were shut today in protest against the government’s tax levied under various brackets. As a symbolic protest, 150 film halls were shut down on Monday.
According to the Nepal Motion Picture Association, the government is collecting 36 per cent tax in the name of film development fees, local tax, and VAT. The association argued that the film development fee and local tax are impractical and demanded that they be abolished.
The Film Development Board collects money from the film halls as a film development fee, which is also the financial source of the board. The administrative work of the board is carried out from the amount collected from this fee.
The association demands that after the implementation of VAT and corporate tax, no tax can be collected under other headings. The association has also said that the direct impact of higher VAT is impacting the audience.
According to the association, there were 450 film halls in the country before the establishment of the Film Development Board, but now only 150 film halls are operating. Mentioning that the film sector has collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the association also said that the sector cannot sustain itself based on the taxes imposed by the government.
“If our demands about high taxes are not met, we will resort to other means of protest,” says Narendra Maharna, spokesperson of the association.
