Daily Times

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday said the income of film producers in Pakistan would be exempted from tax, as she noted that the industry did not developed and remained stagnant from 1970 to 2000.

The minister was referring to the lack of ideas, innovation and investment during the said period which negatively impacted the film industry during her address to the high-achievers of the National Amateur Film Festival Awards, who are now flying to Australia. She said the film industry witnessed a revival since 2000 when big media houses started making movies; however, the fewer number of theatres meant that the process wasn’t smooth enough while the multiplexes were out of ordinary people’s reach for being expensive.

Marriyum recalled that it was the PML-N government in 2017 which introduced the country’s first film policy with a vision to promote not only movies but also music and dramas. The same policy was later made part of the budget in 2018 while a separate division had been established last year in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, she added.

The minister said the industry currently had a zero-tax status under which the import of equipment related to film production and cinemas are fully exempted from taxes.

She said cinemas were enjoying a 10-year tax exemption that also covered their income as the low-income groups did not have recreation opportunities, adding that corporate sector could avail tax credit in case of funding movie production.

The government would extend financial assistance through the recently-established Rs2 billion Film Finance Fund, Marriyum said.