Making music at Mantralaya

Delegation comprising artists and hoteliers meet revenue minister, request a roll back in the unjust entertainment tax

Making music at Mantralaya

Delegation comprising artists and hoteliers meet revenue minister, request a roll back in the unjust entertainment tax

Months after the revision in the entertainment tax was introduced, resulting in the loss of livelihood of many musicians, crusaders of the cause got a chance to present their case in front of Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat yesterday.

The delegation comprising hoteliers and musicians met the minister at Mantralaya and requested him to roll back the entertainment tax that was introduced by the ex-revenue minister Narayan Rane on live music last year.
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"We were trying to seek an appointment with him for a long time but we were unable to reach him.

Finally, we met him today and he has assured us that he will work something out. Hope the decision is taken in our favour," said Lindsay Pitter, a musician who plays at one of the hotels in South Mumbai and one of the members of the delegation.
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Pitter, representing the musicians, also submitted a petition of 600 signatures that they had collected from music lovers, which included the signature of singer Sonu Niigam.

Talking about the meeting with the minister, Kamlesh Barot, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association -Western India (HRA-WI) who represented city hoteliers, said, "We spend about Rs 10 lakh as an hotelier on various licences and taxes.

This tax is an added burden on us. We are forced to remove musicians as we cannot bear the costs.u00a0 This is just an added service that brings in tourism to the state."

The new entertainment tax has caused such grief that musicians and lovers alike have taken up the cause with much vigour.

The cause had reached such a crescendo that MLA Krishna Hegde and Baba Siddiqui had even raised the subject during the winter session in Nagpur, ('Music heats up winter session', December 21) appealing to Thorat to look into the issue before the city lost all of its talent.

However, at that point of time, Thorat, newly-appointed as the revenue minister was unable to meet the musicians.

When MiD DAY contacted Thorat yesterday, he said, "I have understood their side of the story. I am going to speak to my team and will get an explanation over how, when and why this tax was introduced.
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I have sought eight days time. I will definitely try to work out something positive for the musicians."

Ek Cutting!
Kolkata
The city was once known for its nightlife during the '70s. However, it faced a similar setback after the government imposed a 30 per cent entertainment tax on live music, forcing most restaurants on Park Street to fall silent. Many artists migrated to Canada, Australia and the UK while few went to other cities like Mumbai, Goa and Bangalore where live music was free of any obstacles.