Jamshedpur, Oct. 19: Cinema hall-owners across the state would go on a weeklong strike from November 10 in protest against the state government’s failure to reduce compound tax structure. A unanimous decision was taken at a meeting of all the cinema hall owners of the state held in Ranchi yesterday.

President of Jharkhand Film Exhibitors’ Association (JFEA) Hari Narayan Parikh said, “It was the last option. We appreciate the government’s move in reducing the entertainment tax from 110 per cent to 60 per cent, but it is not going to have any impact on the cinema halls unless the compound tax is reduced from its present 39 per cent.” The compound tax enforced in 1985 has been a burden on cinema halls for it is calculated on the assumption of a full house despite the fact that there are rarely times when theatres run full capacity. The fixed tax must also be paid weekly in advance under this provision.

According to Parikh, the number of cine-goers are decreasing by the day, but the fixed compound tax has remained the same. As a result, payment of tax for 25 shows every week becomes difficult for hall-owners to pay.

Of the 152 cinema halls in the state, 26 have shut down over the past few years as they have failed to clear the huge debt burden. Almost all the cinema halls in the state are reeling under the burden of this tax.

Natraj, Regal, Jamshedpur and Karim theatres have shut down while Ratan, Vasundhara, Plaza, Rupashree in Ranchi and Devi Cinema (which was considered to most beautiful hall of Jharkhand) in Bokaro had to be closed. Parikh, who is also the owner of Basant Cinema located in the city said that irrespective of the ticket sale, they had to shell out Rs 73,000 as compound tax in advance to the government.

Parikh said the cinema hall owners would again meet in the capital on November 2 with a written consent for the strike. “The written consent is sought from the cinema hall owners so that the strike does not fizzle out,” he said, adding that the Bihar Motion Pictures Association has been requested not to supply film prints to the state during the strike period. Cinema hall owners from Dhanbad, Ranchi, Bokaro, Jharia, Chas and the steel city would attend the meeting.

Convener of JFEA, S.M. Hashmi said film is the only industry, where the government neither invests a single penny nor provides any assistance though it earns crores in the form of tax.