The UK government has set out a suite of measures to help boost the high-end TV and indie film sectors: introducing a new indie movie relief of 40%, increasing the film and high-end TV tax credit by 5% and bringing in business rates relief for big studios.
The new indie relief will apply to films made for less than £15M, something the local industry has been calling for for months.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced in the last few minutes that the lucrative tax credit, which has been in place for more than a decade, will rise to around 30% for shows that cost more than £1M per episode, and for some movies. A VFX cost cap of 80% will also be removed to aid with these projects.
The business rates relief of 40% will help major studios such as Pinewood and Sky Studios.
A Pact statement said: “Pact and the BFI have today welcomed the Government’s announcement that it will help to support the UK’s independent film sector by increasing the Film Tax Credit to 40% for films with budgets of £1m to £15m. Both Pact and the BFI believe that the enhanced film tax credit will help strengthen the indigenous film sector’s ability to attract finance and to continue developing key talent which will benefit the wider audiovisual sector.”
“Additionally, whilst the audiovisual tax reliefs have played a vital role in making the UK one of the most successful screen sectors in the world, strong global competition from many countries boosting their own tax incentives has meant that UK independent filmmakers have chosen to film on location abroad rather than in the UK. Pact and the BFI believe that the uplift in the film tax credit will lead to more producers choosing to film in the UK, sustaining jobs and creating new opportunities.”
Introduced more than a decade ago, the UK’s film and high-end TV tax credit has been hugely successful, bringing numerous shows from major streamers and studios to the nation and making it easier to get local shows off the ground.
Hunt introduced a simplified Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit last year but this only initiated a real terms increase of around 0.5%. He then used his Autumn Statement to decline to raise relief for indie film, which Pact said was a “missed opportunity to remedy a clear market failure.” A consultation has also been launched over whether to extend tax relief to VFX.
In recent months, producers have been telling Deadline that the tax credit is making less of a difference to getting shows off the ground as costs continue to soar. The bosses of The Crown and Doctor Who indies last week told us they are forging lower-budget slates in response to the tricky market.
