Sunburn tax collection to be much higher this year
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 30 December 2012 23:55 IST
Tightening the reins of tax collectors a bit and Sunburn is proved to be a major source of tax revenue during Christmas in Goa.
Compared to last year’s mere Rs 1.16 crore as the entertainment tax last year, this year the tax collection has reached around Rs two crore from counter sale at the venue in just two days, at the three-day event.
Sunburn, Asia’s biggest music festival held in Candolim on six stages spread out on two playgrounds, ended on 29 December.
Against the claim of the organizers that around one lakh music lovers attended Sunburn last year, the organizers paid only Rs 1.16 crore – the 15 per cent entertainment tax paid for hardly 10,000 people.
After the tax evasion racket was exposed by HCN TV channel, the Commissionerate of Commercial Taxes immediately beefed up its vigilance at the ticket sale at the venue.
The counter sale reported at the venue was 11,500 tickets for all the three days at the rate of Rs 8855 while 4000 and 6000 on the second and third day at the rate of Rs 4600 and Rs 6900 respectively.
It amounted to the entertainment tax collection of around Rs two crore.
The Commissionerate said they have not yet taken stock of on-line sale as well as tickets sold from different outlets all over Goa and outside.
Incidentally, the crowd was less this year against the claims organizers made that it would swell to around 2.5 lakh.
But even if remains to the same figure of one lakh like last year, Goa government would not get less than Rs 10 crore towards the entertainment tax.
With so much tax lost in earlier years(s), it is pertinent to find out where the leakage was and whether some politicians or officials were pocketing money to help the organisers evade so much tax.
I do not understand why the authorities woke up only after a channel exposed this affair. Why the authorities responsible for collection of tax could not act the way they have done this year is a mystery. I smell a rat in this case.
Better late than never, tax net is being tightened. Goa cannot afford evasion of tax anymore as lot of income from mining has already come to abrupt halt.