Production News

Bookmark and Share
21/08/2015

New UK Film Tax Relief Approved

News Image
The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced that a new higher rate of film tax relief for Britain has been approved by the EU.

The plans will see the country's £1.4bn film industry receive a tax credit of 25% on all qualifying expenditure, bringing it in line with TV tax relief. For example, a British film costing £40m, will receive an additional £1m towards productions costs from the change.

The scheme will be backdated to April 2015, the Chancellor added, as he visited the set of Agatha Raisin, a new British TV series being filmed in Wiltshire that is benefiting from the government's high-end TV tax relief. Under the scheme the government provides a tax credit of 25% on qualifying British TV productions.

Mr Osborne said: "British made films are watched and celebrated all over the world – last year alone we saw eight British made films nominated for an Oscar. A key part of our long term economic plan is supporting our creative industries that contribute billions to the economy and provide millions of jobs. We want to see more films, like Gravity and Avengers: Age of Ultron, made in Britain and that's why we've made our film tax relief even more generous."

Amanda Nevill, CEO, British Film Institute, added: "The film tax relief is a key ingredient in the UK's winning combination of outstanding filmmaking talent and crews, world-leading studios and facilities, and iconic locations. It keeps us competitive on the world stage, and helps grow our economy and create jobs at home. We warmly welcome this extension to the tax relief and the government's continued commitment to the UK's thriving film industry."

Ivan Dunleavy, Chief Executive, Pinewood Group plc, commented: "The Chancellor's announcement of further enhancing Film Tax Credit is a clear demonstration of how this government has supported UK Film and helped fuel growth in the creative industries to the benefit of the taxpayer. We look forward to working with UK and global film producers and keeping the UK at the heart of international film and television production."

The government's film tax relief has supported almost £8bn of production expenditure since its introduction, including films such as Oscar-winning Gravity, Maleficent and Harry Potter. In 2014 alone, it supported 222 films.

The move to increase the rate of film tax relief was first announced by the Chancellor in the March 2015 Budget, but it needed to be approved by the EU under state-aid rules.

(JP)
VMI.TV Ltd

Top Related Stories
Click here for the latest broadcast news stories.

23/03/2006
UK Film Council welcomes new tax relief system for British film industry
The UK Film Council has welcomed the Government’s new tax relief system for the British film industry, which it says will help to consolidate its posi
10/10/2024
Blackbird Chosen To Join Innovate UK's Global Business Innovation Programme
Blackbird has been selected to join Innovate UK's Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP) which includes a fully-funded trip attending the South b
01/10/2024
UK Tech Minister Opens Digital Catapult's 5G Immersive Lab
Sir Chris Bryant MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, today
10/09/2024
A+E Networks EMEA To Refresh Its True Crime Brand Across The UK
A+E Networks EMEA has announced it is to refresh its true crime brand Crime + Investigation® across the UK. For the past 20 years, the award-winning T
04/09/2024
Gcore Appoints New Territory Manager For UK And Nordics
Gcore has appointed Sean Hammond, an expert in the convergence of AI and digital media, to head up its fast-expanding UK and Nordics territory. A skil
19/08/2024
TUI Named Sponsorship Partner For Married At First Sight UK
Channel 4 Sales has announced TUI as the sponsorship partner for Married at First Sight UK series four, which returns to the UK later this summer. The
18/08/2000
UK TREASURY UNDER PRESSURE FROM FILM INDUSTRY
BRITISH filmmakers are putting pressure on the UK treasury to extend the 100 per cent tax relief concession on film making beyond 2002. Filmmakers say
30/10/2008
Film Tax Relief Supporting UK Film Industry
New figures showing the success of the UK Government's film tax relief were published this week by Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Timms.
29/11/2006
Film Minister Welcomes Approval For Revised UK Film Tax Incentive Scheme
Film Minister Shaun Woodward has welcomed the European Commission approval of the United Kingdom’s film tax incentive scheme on the basis of EC Treaty
08/06/2010
UK Film Industry Substantial, Report Says
The UK film industry contributes a total of over £4.5 billion a year to UK GDP and more than £1.2 billion to the Exchequer, according to an independen
25/09/2009
British Filmmakers Enjoy Epic Tax Relief
Tax breaks for moviemakers continue to script success in the cinematographic industry. Last year, filmmakers got £100m support from a UK Government fu
15/11/2013
EC Safeguards UK Film Tax Relief
The government and the British Film Institute (BFI) have announced news that the European Commission has published a new Cinema Communication safeguar
06/12/2013
British Film Commission Welcomes Chancellor's Statement
The British Film Commission has praised the enhancements to the UK's Film Tax Relief announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer the Autumn Statement
18/03/2004
Chancellor’s film tax relief rules broadly welcomed
Chancellor Gordon Brown’s decision to offset the closing of a tax loophole widely used by filmmakers with extended tax relief has been generally well
28/10/2022
Pat Shortt's Short Film Wins At Newport Beach International Film Festival
Avenue Productions has announced that Pat Shortt's directorial debut, 'Warts and All' has won Best Short Narrative International Short, at Newport Bea