The government of Pakistan has announced special incentives in the recent budget to revive the film industry and bring it on modern lines.
The people associated with the film industry of Pakistan have appreciated these steps taken by the government and termed them as timely and very important.
It may be recalled that during the PML-N government in 2017, Federal Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb formulated a policy after long consultations with people associated with the film industry, but the government’s tenure ended before it became effective.
The previous government announced several times to review the film policy, but it was not implemented. However, this time in the budget itself, the government has announced the measures according to which all kinds of tax exemptions have been given on the equipment required for cinema and film making.
Withholding tax on producers and distributors has been abolished and income tax has also been exempted.
Federal Minister of Information Maryam Aurangzeb while talking to Independent Urdu said that “Pakistan has been absent from the cultural screen of the world and the world sees Pakistan as a country where political chaos, sit-ins and explosions happen all the time.” are.’
“If Pakistan has a good impression in the world, people will come here for tourism and foreign investors will also invest in Pakistan.”
He further said that ‘The story of Pakistan is not known to the world, and there is no better way to tell the world than a film’.
He said that Pakistani cinema has been missing for 40 years and there is a need to support it.
He said that ‘multiplex cinemas are expensive and the common man cannot buy tickets in them, so it is necessary to build new cinemas so that people with low income can have an opportunity of entertainment and the cities of the country where there are no cinemas. Be a cinema there.’
“Given industry status to film, now banks can give loans to filmmakers, tax breaks under CSR for big companies to produce films will increase the trend of filmmaking and investors will shift their money towards it. , Moreover, a global filmmaker who makes 70% of his film in Pakistan will be exempted from tax’.
He further said that along with this, health insurance is also being started for the artists so that the artists do not face any difficulties.
In this regard, Independent Urdu tried to know their position by contacting people associated with the film industry.
Nadeem Mandviwala, owner of Atrium Cinemas, said, “The steps taken by the government are very welcome, but it is important to note that all these proposals are from 2017 and were supposed to be approved in 2018, when the cinema is booming.” And Bollywood movies were showing in Pakistan.
According to him, cinemas have been closed for two years now during Corona and during this time the cinema houses have incurred huge debts, so there will be no immediate progress in the construction of new cinemas.
He said that cinema needs a film and only Pakistani, Hollywood and Bollywood films are played in Pakistan. Before 2019, we used to order 90 Bollywood films a year, now it is necessary to make more films to make up for the shortfall.
“The most important of these proposals is to abolish the eight percent withholding tax,” he added.
According to him, “First, when the cinema owner paid the money to the distributor, he used to deduct 8 percent tax, then when the distributor paid money to the film producer, he used to deduct 8 or 10 percent tax, which put the producer in a lot of trouble.” was It was double taxation which has been abolished.’
He said that due to Corona, the cinema industry around the world suffered a lot and many countries including America helped them, otherwise many cinemas would have been closed.
ARY Films chief Irfan Malik told The Independent that ‘Five years of efforts have paid off as film and cinema needed support after Covid.’
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Irfan Malik said that despite all these good initiatives, it must be remembered that the results will start to be seen in two to five years. He said that when the producer is making a film, 10% tax is levied on him, it has been abolished and with the 8% withholding tax, it is a saving of 18% which will benefit the producer and filmmaking. will be strengthened.’
He further said that ‘Customs duty and other tax exemptions are very good but there is a need to create a national film heritage so that future generations can see the work of today.’
He said that exemption from withholding tax is also important as a distributor, because putting a film in a few dozen cinemas and earning money from them is the most difficult task. There is more, but now there is a need for new cinemas to be built in more cities.’
According to Irfan Malik, ‘When the government respects this work, the citizens will also respect this work, people will teach their children film and make films, thus this work will develop, Pakistan’s famous filmmaker, producer Fiza. Ali Mirza said about this, “The most important thing is that filmmaking has been given the status of an industry, which is a great achievement because it was stagnant for many years.”
“The biggest advantage of this will be that now the process of making a film will be relatively easy.”
He said that ‘the government should be appreciated in this regard.’
About the government’s financial support for filmmaking, he said, ‘Apart from women filmmakers, those who are making films for the first time need the most support.’
Fiza Ali Mirza said that ‘If you look at it, this is a bill for the film and drama industry because the makers of dramas will also benefit from it.’
According to him, ‘now it is necessary for the government to explain how the benefits given by this bill can be taken advantage of, because many people do not know what the procedure is.’
Director Nabil Qureshi, who has given many successful films to Pakistan, says that he thinks the government needs to take these steps immediately. The tax exemption on import of modern equipment related to film making is welcome, but what happens is that the declaration is made but no instructions are given to the Customs and FBR in this regard, and if any such equipment If he brings it, he is stopped. Therefore, it is important that the orders continue and no more years and six months are wasted.
Nabil Qureshi said that the money that was deducted during the making of the film can now be invested in the film, which will improve the quality of the film making.
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