Britain’s film industry warns deep cuts to tax relief incentives could affect GDP
THE British film industry yesterday warned cuts to a government tax relief system designed to make producing movies in the country financially attractive, would be devastating for the sector.
The UK Film Council has commissioned a report on the film sector and its importance to the British economy and presented it to the government in a bid to fend off cuts that could be made as part of a wider drive to bring down national debt. Filmmakers are braced for bad news when the government reports an emergency budget on 22 June aimed at bringing down a deficit running at 11 per cent of national output.
“All of the different fiscal mechanisms are in the pot for consideration,” said John Woodward of the UK Film Council. “This report is timely.”
The authors of the report warned removal of the UK Film Tax Relief would lead to a 75 per cent drop in the scale of film production in the country, as other countries target movie dollars with their own incentives.
That would cost the country around £1.4bn overall and about £400m in direct revenues to state coffers.