Cable operators oppose new tax

The State Cable TV Operators Federation has strongly opposed the government's move to introduce the Multi System Operation (MSO) tax.

The Federation at the state level convention held in Dharwad urged the government to continue the present system of imposing entertainment tax and customer service tax of 10.2 per cent.

Federation president Hiryal Chandre Gowda who presided over the convention said the proposed new tax would be a burden to the cable Television Operators and would hit them hard.

The convention also demanded that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) be refurbished in order to protect the interest of cable operators.

The federation alleged that the TRAI set up to settle differences between the pay channels and the cable operators was acting in a partisan manner safeguarding the interest of only pay channels.

The federation also expressed its anguish over the delay by the government in implementing the conditional access system (CAS). The members at the convention also said the CAS was announced to solve the problems of cable operators and enable the operator to protect his interests using the Direct To Home (DTH) facility.