Miranda Bailey’s Post

On Oscar night it's worth reflecting the lengths to which countries go to attract #film production. Pillar 2 was supposed to eliminate #tax competition, but tellingly has no restrictions on #taxcredits and similar subsidies. Expect to see the continued courting of key industries through the #tax system - just not the #taxrates. Crowe UK Crowe Global #taxcompetition

It's so nice when a #financial blog highlights your film project within a discussion about film financing right as you’re approaching additional investment partners. Every bit of exposure helps, and every possible new connection is a chance to build relationships. Thanks, Gary Tanashian, and Notes From the Rabbit Hole Market Report Very Cool! #filmmaking #FilmFinance https://lnkd.in/gKggf9Rv

This article appeared on the Deadline today. We have managed the Italian Tax Credit since 2009 and affirm that the article contains some inaccuracies regarding the Tax Credit scheme for foreign productions (International Tax Credit). Specifically, the new decree related to the International Tax Credit has yet to be made public by the Italian authorities, but, in any case, it will not introduce any limit for every single work. The Italian authorities shall confirm the current limit of 20 million per Italian executive production company. This limit has not prevented films and television series with very high budgets from being filmed in Italy. At the same time, the rate will remain fixed at 40%, as it is today, and the only modification will concern above-the-line costs related to non-European talents. The article dangerously confuses the limits set for the International Tax Credit with those for Italian local productions, which also remain unchanged compared to the previous system. The reference to the leading film distribution company needs to be corrected, as it exclusively concerns one-way Italian feature films can access the national Tax Credit. Still, it has no implications or relevance to the International Tax Credit. #taxcredit #internationalmovies #Italiantaxcreditsystem #filmincentives #Italy #Smartconsulting https://lnkd.in/dfTAmCtt

As film and television production jobs leave and crews struggle to find work, Governor Newsom’s announcement that he wants to double California’s film and television tax credits is excellent news. Productions are extremely cost sensitive and mobile. Producers do not hesitate to go to less expensive locations, usually ones that benefit from incentives that further defray costs. Talented people are following the jobs, moving to places like Austin and Atlanta. Economic purists may disagree that incentives are a good thing. They might argue that any subsidy is distortive, and also why should any one industry receive subsidies and not another? I would offer a few points in rebuttal. The first point is simply pragmatism. Film and television are hugely important job creators to California, and the decline of production has already caused economic dislocation. If California wants to compete, it has to offer incentives as well. California's advantage is that it doesn’t have to offer the very best incentives; they only have to be good enough to keep productions here, where capable talent and crews already live. The second point is that production incentives pay themselves back. Experts disagree whether they pay themselves back completely, but productions do have a substantial knock-on effect in the economy that creates a larger tax base. That defrays the cost of the incentives at least in part. My third point has to do with the value of being home to a global creative community that influences cultural perceptions and spending decisions. I know this from my years working with the UK’s Department for Business and Trade, in partnership with the British Film Commission. Study after study found evidence that film and television production in the UK was a strong driver of cultural associations and tourism. For example, Nation Brands Index 2022 identified films to be the 3rd-strongest cultural association with the UK overall amongst Americans, and found that 29% of US travelers to the UK cited “international movies or television programs” as a motivator. It remains to be seen whether this announcement becomes policy, and also whether it will be enough to turns things around for film and television in California, but I am hopeful. https://lnkd.in/g2TJnKnz Thank you to Nigel Patrick Daly OBE and Screen International for the coverage. #filmandtelevision #filmincentives #filmproduction Stephen Cheung William Powles Allison C. Matt Rauchberg James Dibbo Terri Batch Chasen Washington Stanley E. Washington Rosamund O. Andrew Lewis MBE

Today the Chancellor threw a last roll of the dice at the UK public hoping they wouldn't see the huge tax hikes and cuts to services coming in the next few months. However, buried deeper is the announcement of an increase in the HEVC tax credit for the film industry to 40% (effective 30% after calculation) for films between £1-15m. An improvement on the 25% and 25.5% effective tax credit rates from before. I have to say well done and thank you to the Independent Producers network who lobbied for this change on our behalf. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed. Also announced is that the VFX cap is to be removed (from 80%) plus an additional 5% relief. My question is why the removal of the 80% spending cap for VFX was not also applied to physical production (where a majority of indies spend their budget) to provide further relief to the hard working independent film sector and to encourage independent investment into the sector? Maybe this is something to lobby the next government for in the future as we continue to work towards a fairer and more equitable industry. In any case, REBEL YEAH! are open for business, if you have some money to invest in socially conscious truly audacious entertaining films that aim to change the world, then come my way :D https://lnkd.in/gHpGPtcA

“TAX WARS - They fight to tax multinational corporations”; Directors: Hege Dehli & Xavier Harel; FR-ENG, 2024; 90min. Over the past 40 years or so, since the rise of the Reagan-Thatcher era, multinational corporations have significantly impacted the global economy, amassing over $3 trillion in annual profits while evading substantial tax payments. This tax evasion has deprived successive governments of essential revenues, exacerbating inequalities, poverty, and populism, and leaving them underfunded to support healthcare, education, public infrastructures, and climate change actions. However, there is hope for a fairer and more sustainable society by curbing multinational tax evasion. In 2015, a coalition of NGOs and international experts formed the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT). This commission includes prominent economists like Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Thomas Piketty, author of the global bestseller "Capital in the Twenty-First Century”, along with former politicians and finance ministers such as Judge Eva Joly, Wayne Swan, and José Antonio Ocampo. Their mission is to ensure that multinationals pay their fair share of taxes by proposing a global tax on their profits. Initially seen as idealists, these activists have persisted through reports, ministerial lobbying, and conferences. Their efforts bore fruit in October 2021 when 136 countries adopted a historic agreement for a global minimum tax on multinational profits, expected to generate $220 billion in tax revenue and challenge tax havens. "Tax Wars" is a documentary chronicling the journey of these activists in shifting international public opinion and disrupting the longstanding status quo of tax evasion by multinational corporations.

This article describes the tax credit applicable to international productions having Italian nationality, not the tax credit applicable to foreign productions whose executive production is carried out in Italy. These are two completely different tax credits. The new decree for foreign executive productions will be announced in the coming weeks and will be promptly communicated by the Italian authorities. Any communication at this time could lead to incorrect and misleading considerations. One thing is certain: no cap per production will be introduced. The intent of the Italian legislator is to increasingly attract international productions to Italy. #taxcredit #foreignproductions #Italy #Smart

Coming out of last year's strikes, budgets are being cut exponentially further, making tax credits are increasingly important drivers for production. I had a conversation with one studio with mandates to cut budgets 50%. You just can not do that in LA #buffalo #filminbuffalo https://lnkd.in/gVdizb2Y

While the naysayers to state tax incentives claim they are costing their state money, I have to disagree. Take for example, Senoia, GA, a small town no one even thought about before "The Walking Dead" moved in and filmed in the town and area over the course of the series run. Now, it's a tourist destination, has a thriving Main Street with excellent restaurants like my good friend's Italian restaurant, Borgo Italia, that I can't recommend more highly and is reservations only on the weekends despite being about 40 minutes outside of downtown Atlanta, and the property values of the town have increased exponentially generating additional tax revenue in sales tax and property taxes that is long-lasting - even with the departure of the series that is no longer filming there. A similar experience occurred in Covington, GA, where they filmed the Netflix series, Sweet Magnolias, the CW's The Vampire Diaries, and other series and films, one of which I worked on, On A Wing and A Prayer for Amazon MGM Studios. So while the state bean counters are looking at tax revenue in / tax revenue out in the immediate term... I don't buy for a second that the increase in tourism, property taxes, sales tax from the new businesses created and others that are established, and more, isn't receiving as much, if not more, from the incentives investment made by the states that have smart, competitive (on the world stage, not just against other United States locales), and robust tax incentives for the entertainment industry.

"A move by Georgia lawmaker to cap how much the state spends each year on its lucrative film tax credit died Friday morning with the final gavel of the 2024 General Assembly session. Both the Senate and the House had weakened the cap in the final weeks of the session, but in the end even that legislation didn’t get a final vote." Read more in the article below, and comment with your opinion on capping the tax credit for one of the state's most lucrative industries. https://ow.ly/uGVc50R6sHU #GeorgiaFilm #TaxCredit #FilmIndustry #EntertainmentNews #StateEconomy #LegislativeSession #FilmTax