BHOPAL: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has refused to exempt the three IPL matches to be played at Indore from entertainment tax. The organisers had made a request to this effect.
Sources say the CM’s stand is that these matches are purely commercial and the organisers earn lakhs through sales of tickets for these events. In view of this, there was no point in exempting them from entertainment tax.
The state government will charge 20 per cent entertainment tax on the proceeds of sale of tickets of these events. Recently, ex-chief minister Digvijay Singh had commented that if the CM did not like cheerleaders, he could ask the organisers to play ‘Ramdhun’ but he should free the matches from entertainment tax to enable the youth to watch them.
Three IPL matches are to be played at Holkar Stadium in Indore on April 8, 10 and 20. Earlier, the government had exempted a test match played between India and South Africa in the state from entertainment tax. Besides, MP Cricket Association, many bureaucrats and politicians were also trying to secure tax exemption for the matches.
