Malta’s Tourism Minister, Zammit Lewis has announced a brand new film incentive programme for regional productions which will provide tax credits of up to 150% of an eligible spend. The incentive has been designed to stimulate the local film industry in the wake of immense interest from international productions such as Assassin’s Creed starring Michael Fassbender.
Iceland could see an improved film incentive programme if a government proposal proves successful. The proposal in question seeks to increase the current 20% rebate to 25%, making the incentive far more competitive on the global filming market. To be put into law, the proposal will have to be approved at two separate debates but has already been successful in the first round.
The Basic Film Incentive Tax Credit offered within the Canadian province of British Columbia will be cut from 33% to 28% over growing concerns regarding inflated Government spending.
In an effort to simplify the process of applying for and receiving the Abu Dhabi filming incentive, the programme will now be run solely by the Media Zone Authority company, Image Nation Abu Dhabi. Operation of the incentive was previously split between Image Nation and the SANAD Film Fund.
Serbia has introduced a brand new film incentive programme which will cover commercials alongside film and television productions, making it the first country in Eastern Europe to offer an official incentive for commercials. The country now offers a 20% cash rebate for productions filming on location, with this year’s deadline being set for September 30th.
Minnesota’s film incentive programme (also known as Snowbate) could have its funding partially removed under a proposal to scale back government spending on the state’s film industry. This proposal also asks that the Minnesota Film and Television Board be shut down, accumulating in an estimated saving of USD1.8 million.
With the future of Florida’s film incentive programme uncertain, the Miami-Dade County could install its own programme to bring business back into the state. Florida’s incentive programme offers up to 30% in transferable tax credits but currently lacks sufficient funding, rendering the scheme useless until the state government intervenes.
The state of Massachusetts’ tax incentive programme could be scaled back under a new proposal by Governor Charlie Baker. As part of his budget proposal for 2017, Baker has called for a USD7 million cap to be implemented per production after his previous efforts to scrap the programme entirely were thrown out.