Film tax relief to continue
In a popular move, the chancellor has extended until 2005 the tax relief scheme available for low budget UK film productions.
The scheme, introduced in 1997, allowed for a 100% write off on production and acquisition costs for British films with budgets of up to £15m.
Extended to 2002 in the 1999 Finance Act, UK film productions will now be able to write off 100% of tax on expenditure incurred between 1997 and 2005.To qualify for the relief, 70% of the film’s costs must be spent on activity in the UK.
Andrew Tate, managing director of Evolution Films, which secures investment for British film productions, said: ‘We are absolutely elated. It is not at all what we expected.’