Pratap G. Pawar, president of The Indian Newspaper Society, has expressed serious concern over the Tamil Nadu Government's move to impose an entry tax on newsprint. The State Government, in its budget for 2002-2003, has sought to impose a four per cent entry tax on newsprint. Mr. Pawar recently submitted a memorandum to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, pleading against the move, which will affect newspapers adversely. He added that in one of its judicial pronouncements relating to the imposition of certain duties on newsprint, the Supreme Court had observed that a tax on newsprint amounted to a ``tax on knowledge and a burden imposed on the readers''.
Mr. Pawar said the newspaper industry was at present confronted by multiple crises arising from the implementation of the Manisana Wage Boards' Awards, the need for withdrawal of Customs duty on newsprint, unremunerative DAVP rates, a steep decline in advertisement revenue and competition from the electronic media. Moreover, newspaper economy was rather fragile, and mainly dependent on the price of newsprint which constituted 60 to 65 per cent of the turnover.