Actor and producer Mark Wahlberg has called for better location filming incentives in Canada, where he has made several films over the years. Visiting Toronto this week he spoke of his wish to see more US productions filming in the country.
The UK will launch a TV location filming tax credit in April 2013. Chancellor George Osborne confirmed the programme to boost the TV industry and encourage high-end shows like Downton Abbey to continue filming in Britain.
Ireland’s location filming incentive programme has been extended through to 2020. The Section 481 Film Tax Relief Scheme will become a tax credit model from 2016, a change which might bring other enhancements too.
New York’s location filming incentive brought USD6.9 billion to the state and generated USD2.23 in tax for every dollar issued in 2011, a new report shows. Some 12,600 production jobs were created as a result of the credit.
Pennsylvania is calling for an increase to the film fund for its location filming incentive. At the moment the state programme has USD60 million allocated annually for a 25% tax credit, but officials say this needs to rise to at least USD100 million.
A Saskatchewan filmmaker has made a short film to highlight the need for a location filming incentive in the Canadian province. The regional programme was abruptly cancelled earlier this year to massive uproar that reached as far as Hollywood.
New Zealand will focus on keeping its TV filming incentives globally competitive, rather than sweetening its feature tax credit. Prime Minister John Key said the country’s minimum spend for TV productions to get incentive support needs to be lowered.
Filmmaker Peter Jackson has urged the New Zealand Government to be flexible with location filming incentives in the coming years. He stressed that the hobbit trilogy came very close to being filmed in the UK partly because of a high-profile actors’ union dispute in 2010.