Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Friday said the State government would have a relook at the entertainment tax levied by the local bodies on the cinema industry.
He was responding to a request by cine actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan.
Speaking at a function organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin said: “I will definitely bring this request to the notice of our Chief Minister. After patiently considering the legal aspects involved in this, the Chief Minister would make an announcement in the upcoming Assembly session that will make you all happy.” Promising his support in this regard, he further said: “I assure you that our Chief Minister will make a good announcement quite soon.”
He took part in the ‘FICCI Media & Entertainment Business Conclave 2025’ held in Chennai.
During his speech at the function, Mr. Haasan said there was a need to revisit and reform the State’s entertainment tax for cinema.
“This is the request that the industry is putting forward. This double taxation is getting them worried,” he said.
In his speech, Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin recalled how the Dravidian movement used cinema as a medium to spread its reformist ideas to the masses.
Late leaders and former Chief Ministers C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi used cinema as a medium to take their progressive ideas to the people, he said.
