Telugu artists and others connected with the Telugu film industry held a protest here today against the imposition of service tax. Maintaining that the imposition of service tax caused enormous burden on them, the film personalities organised a two-hour sit-in and sought its withdrawal. Tollywood protest event was held at Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC), Hyderabad on January 7. Many popular celebrities like Venkatesh, Nani, Jagapathi Babu, D Ramanaidu, Allu Aravind, Murali Mohan, Tammareddy Bharadwaja, Ali and a few others were present on the occasion. Observing that they are already paying income and entertainment taxes, prominent filmmaker Tammareddy Bhardwaj said the service tax put a lot of burden on them. The imposition of service tax would make the cost of film production raise and make it difficult for producers and in turn, others too, he said. The service tax, to the tune of 12 per cent, is being imposed since July 2012.
