Thursday, April 12, 2007 Theater owners ask gov’t to stop film piracy
THEATER operators in Cebu are calling on the government to intensify the campaign against the piracy of films, among others, for fear that the crisis the country’s movie industry is facing will worsen.
“We have problems in the movie industry, especially the theater operators.
The government must do something about it (or else) the industry will die.
When the movie industry dies, the government will lose much,” said Valeriano “Bobit” Avila, president of the Metro Cebu Theater Association (MCTA).
“With piracy and the emergence of other forms of entertainment, such as the Internet, bars and video karaoke, the future of the movie industry is bleak,” he added.
Theater operators in the country pay a 30-percent amusement tax on top of the income tax. Theater operators get only 30 percent, as the movie producers get 70 percent of the share of the income.
Suffer
Avila said in the country’s movie industry, it is the theater operators that suffer the most due to the high taxes slapped on them by the government.
He said Australia and other countries in the West get a 10-percent goods and services tax from theater operators. In return, the governments make sure that peace and order are maintained in the theaters and that piracy is prevented.
Convention
“In the Philippines, what has the government done in exchange of the 30-percent amusement tax?” said Avila, who attended the ShoWest Convention, the annual convention of theater owners in the US.
Assist
He said the government can assist theater owners by reducing taxes or by giving a moratorium on taxes.
Avila is also the president of the Colon Heritage Corp., operator of Oriente 1, 2 and 3 theaters, which is located in Colon.
In Cebu, a number of theater operators have already given up on the business, he said. (JBN)
