Australian Arts Minister Hints At Tax Breaks For Foreign TV Productions

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

19 August 2003

Australian Federal Arts Minister Richard Alston has hinted that the government may extend tax breaks from foreign film projects to overseas television productions, ABC News reported this week.

However, whilst attending the International Movie Convention on the Gold Coast, Alston cautioned that such a measure may not be put in place for some time, explaining that the government would prefer to assess the effectiveness of tax breaks for the film industry before extending it to television. He also cited cost factors as a possible deterrent.

"I was all in favour of the film tax offset and similarly, I would like to think we could move in that direction for episodic television, but again it costs money," ABC quoted Alston as observing. He added: "It's a tight environment, all the usual problems, so we are not about to rush into it."

Meanwhile, a recent study conducted by Moneypenny Business and Taxation Services has claimed that the tax regime for shooting movies in Australia is more favourable than in Canada, another favourite location for Hollywood 'runaway' productions.

The Australian accountancy firm's report calculates that on a budget of US$24 million, a runaway Hollywood production shot in Australia would save 7.5%, compared to the same venture in Canada. It also notes that the cost advantages increase as the movie budget rises, provided that the production qualifies for the 12.5% 'refundable tax offset' placed on film budgets over US$9.7 million.

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