Written by David Lewis on Dec 19, 2008. Posted in Incentive News

France Adopts a 20% Tax Break for Foreign Shoots

The French parliament has voted to create a 20% tax break for foreign television and movie productions shooting in France.

Eligible spend will include French labour costs, technical equipments and rentals, as well as accommodation and transportation. There will be a per production cap of USD5.7 million.

Although the main target is film, TV series and mini-series and TV movies, documentaries will also be eligible if they spend USD1.4 million or more.

The system was proposed by Film France and the French Audiovisual Industries Organisation (FICAM) and will be funded throughout 2009.

As with other European incentives, productions applying for the rebate will face a cultural test before qualifying.

Patrick Lamassoure, Managing Director of Film France, said: "Obviously, the idea of the system is to get productions shot here, and to trigger jobs. Movies such as Marie-Antoinette, The Da Vinci Code and A Good Year would have passed the test."