VISAKHAPATNAM: Pointing to current difficult times, proprietors of film theatres have recalled decisions taken by then chief minister late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, which helped them a lot.
They pointed out that losses in business of running cinema theatres initially started with decisions taken by late N.T. Rama Rao as chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh in1984. He introduced a slab system in the collection of taxes on cinema tickets.
Theatre owners thus had to pay tax on all seats, including the empty ones.
Before the introduction of this rule, the theatre owners used to pay the tax on the number of tickets sold per show. Later, then chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu continued the same system.
However, when late Rajasekhara Reddy came to power in 2004, theatre owners requested him to remove the slab system.
“Late YSR immediately responded to our pleas. He withdrew all decisions taken by NTR and Chandrababu Naidu,” pointed out owner of a film theatre in Krishna district. He regretted that now, present Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has gone on to restrict cinema ticket rates at various levels.
“Late YSR did us a favour. We peacefully managed the film theatres. We are not happy with his son’s decisions of slashing the ticket prices,” said a film theatre owner of Vizag.
