Duty cuts on broadcasters' budget wish list

MUMBAI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has presented a pre-budget memorandum to the finance ministry, which includes suggestions to remove service tax on broadcasting services and duty on the import of equipment for broadcasting services.

The NBA has also proposed that its fringe benefit tax (FBT) slab be brought on par with that of the IT and pharma industries, instead of the current level of 20%. The broadcasting industry incurs a lot of expenditure on travel, hotel stays and communication, which are a necessary part of its core newsgathering activity. In addition, the NBA has made a case for extending the stimulus package given to print publishers ��� which included a 10% hike in advertising rates paid by DAVP and a waiver of the 15% agency commission ��� to the news broadcasting industry also.

���News and current affairs channels do a major service to the nation and all are free-to-air. Our only source of revenue is advertising. News & current affairs channels require huge investments in infrastructure, human resources, etc. The economic slowdown and reduced advertising spends have impacted the bottomlines of most of the broadcasters,��� the NBA said in the memorandum.