Maharashtra Govt put 25% Tax on ODI, IPL and T20 Matches

Cricket is now officially an entertainment sport. Forty-five years after it declared horse racing as entertainment, the state government has decided to add cricket to the list. Like cricket, pubs, discotheques and internet protocol television (IPTV). The decision was approved by the state cabinet on Wednesday. Chief minister Ashok Chavan said, “Cricketers are making huge money and the game is also receiving immense sponsorship. Since the revenue generated is big we decided to levy the tax.’’ The matches played within the BMC’s jurisdiction will attract a 25% tax, in other civic bodies it will be 20% and in the rest of Maharashtra it will be 15%.
Chief minister Ashok Chavan said the tax was not applicable to Test matches, Ranji trophy and school cricket. The tax is applicable to all one-day international matches, IPL 20-20 cricket matches and any similar forms of the games. IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said the private league had no issue over paying tax. “It is not an issue at all. If there is an entertainment tax we will pay it,’’ he said.