Pact welcomes extension of Film Tax relief

Pact has welcomed Chancellor Gordon Brown's announcement of an extension to Section 48 tax relief in today's budget statement.
It extends the tax relief for low budget British films until at least March 31 2006. Any film commencing principal photography before April 1 2006 and completed by January 1 2007 will be eligible for the relief.
Pact hopes this will enable some currently stalled British films to be financed and completed. The volume of UK film production in 2005 is nevertheless likely to fall significantly compared to last year.
Pact continues to look forward to working with the Government to establish the details of the new permanent tax credit announced in last year's budget and welcomes the intention to ensure that in the future, tax relief for both low and larger budget films will be provided on a coherent and consistent basis.
Tim Willis, Director of Film at Pact, said: "The last year has been very tough for producers and of course we are relieved that the immediate uncertainty surrounding Section 48 has been addressed. We look forward to the consultation exercise on the new permanent tax credit and we remain hopeful that it will provide the promised 20% benefit to producers."
(GB)