Front Page, Industry News

Filmmakers, NDP give bad reviews to new film credit

Saskatchewan’s new film industry subsidy is being panned by the NDP Opposition and industry representatives.

The non-refundable film, TV and digital tax credit, worth about $1 million according to the government, will replace the old film tax credit, worth about $8 million, that was cancelled in the provincial budget as a cost-cutting measure.

The new program, announced Friday afternoon, offers a 25 per cent non-refundable tax credit on production costs, but only companies that make a profit will get the money.

Ron Goetz, president of the Saskatchewan Motion Picture Industry Association (SMPIA), said that’s a problem.

“If you have no corporate earnings you have no tax credit,” Goetz said. “So that’s the difficulty, because most film companies don’t make a profit.”

Most of the companies are created for one specific film, Goetz explained.

“It’s not like these single-purpose companies are holding on to significant funds at the end of the day,” he added. “They’re designed to complete that production.”

The NDP turned up the heat on the change in the legislature.

“Why is the government forcing through a plan that will be completely useless in keeping the film industry alive in Saskatchewan and that won’t attract outside investment here?” Danielle Chartier asked Culture Minister Bill Hutchinson.

“Let’s be clear about this,” Hutchinson replied. “In every one of our discussions with the film industry, we have been very clear that the old refundable tax credit wasn’t viable. It obviously wasn’t helping to grow the industry. The industry was seriously in decline. It came at an enormous cost to taxpayers, and it was unfair to every other industry active in this province.”

Hutchinson added that over 98 per cent of the $100 million paid out through the old program was “really just a grant to companies that don’t even pay corporate income tax” in Saskatchewan.