CHANCELLOR GIVES BOOST TO UK FILM INDUSTRY

THE Film Council have welcomed the Chancellor's announcement that tax relief for film production in the UK will be extended for a further three years.
The announcement was the result of extensive discussions between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Film Council and the Treasury over the past six months. The relief will now be continued until April 2005.
The continuation of the Section 48 relief introduced by the Government in 1997 has delivered real benefit to the investment community translating into production finance for British films.
It is estimated that in 1999/2000 approximately £500 million of film production was generated through the application of Section 48 reliefs (100 per cent first year write-off for films budgeted below £15 million).
The tax write-off has also led to the creation of equity partnerships: a new type of financing for British films that has introduced additional forms of financing into the industry.
John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the Film Council, said: "This is hugely important for the British film industry. Section 48 reliefs have been vital to the recent resurgence of film production in the UK and there is now a firm foundation for growth and exports over the next few years."
Tax incentives are a key component of the Film Council's strategy to help develop a sustainable UK film industry.
Section 48 complements the long-standing Section 42 relief that can be used for ‘British-qualifying’ films with budgets over £15 million. This tax relief has been instrumental in attracting international films to be made in the UK sharply increasing inward investment into the UK production sector over the last eight years from £58 million in 1992 to £539 million in 2000.
The creation of high quality jobs across the film production sector has provided a consistent flow of work for film crews, talent, studios, facilities and related services as well as generating indirect economic activity. (CD)