No tax relief for BCCI

The Indian government has withdrawn tax relief for the national cricket board, a minister said on Tuesday, after tax officials termed its activities a "gimmick" to make money.
Junior finance minister S S Palanimanickam told the upper house of parliament that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was now "primarily a commercial entity."
“The (tax) exemption was disallowed for the year 2007-08 as it was held that the BCCI is no longer promoting cricket as a charitable activity and is now primarily a commercial entity," the minister said.
The minister's action follows a report from the income tax department which ruled there was "no element of charity" in the affairs of the BCCI.
“Cricket is only incidental to its scheme of things," the department said in a statement. "It is more into prize money for every run or wicket, which is nothing short of a gimmick.
"The conduct of certain activities and receipt of income from these activities clearly show that these activities are totally commercial and there is no element of charity in the conduct of BCCI.
"It is evident that major income arises not from the game of cricket but from the business of cricket."
The BCCI, regarded as the richest cricket board in the world, earned 10 billion rupees (215 million dollars) in the financial year 2007-2008, up 65 million dollars on the previous year.
It also promotes the glitzy Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament which features the world's top cricketers playing for eight franchises owned by India's wealthy businessmen and film stars.