Moviegoers can now enjoy Bhutanese movies at a cheaper rate in the theatres. This is because the National Assembly accepted National Council’s recommendation to do away with the 30 per cent sales tax on every ticket.
Accepting the National Council’s recommendation, National Assembly members said doing away with a 30 per cent sales tax on every ticket will not only help the local film industry in promoting traditions, culture, and national language but also help sustain the film industry.
“Due to the change in time, most people watch movies on computers and mobile phones. Not many people go and watch movies in theatres. The sustainability of the Bhutanese film industry is at stake. As such it would be better if we reduce the 30 per cent sales tax to zero per cent,” said Bardo-Trong MP, Gyambo.
“I would also suggest removing the sales tax on movie tickets and making it 0. This will help the local film industry produce more movies and also help in sustainability,” said Draagteng-Langthil MP, Gyem Dorji.
The house, however, did not support the NC’s recommendation to start imposing a 10 per cent sales tax on imports of mobile phones, especially given the large volume of imports of mobile phones and the possible deflection of such imports.
“In a few countries, they do not levy any taxes on any communicating electronic items. And with the right to information and with almost everyone utilizing mobile phones for education purposes, I don’t think we should impose taxes on mobile phones,” said Bartsham-Shongphu MP, Passang Dorji.
“We don’t exactly know whether there is a deflection or not. We haven’t heard anything about it also. But if there are cases of deflection then the concerned agency like the Customs office should intervene and do their job. But simply imposing a tax will not solve this problem,” said Khatoed-Laya MP, Tenzin.
“In 2020, we imported mobile phones worth Nu 1.6bn and in 2021 the number increased to Nu 2.4bn. Despite this, we cannot say that there is deflection happening as we have not come across any such cases so far. But we are monitoring the case properly,” said Namgay Tshering, the Finance Minister.
With all the members voting in favour, the House passed the Tax Bill of Bhutan 2022 and the Property Tax Bill of Bhutan 2022 today. The bills will now be submitted to His Majesty The King for Royal Assent.
Passang Dorji
Edited by Sonam Pem
