News
April 17, 2019
FilmOntario - Provincial Budget Update
Government Maintains commitment to the Film and Television Tax Credits
This afternoon I was pleased to attend the province’s annual budget lock-up and am even more pleased to report that the government has renewed its commitment to stable film and television tax credits.
Minister Fedeli lauded the success of our industry in his Budget Speech in the Legislature, and stated “Our government will continue to offer three refundable film and television tax credits. This will encourage film and television production, and computer animation and special effects.” This message was reiterated in the longer Budget Papers, (start reading at page 221!) where the government repeated the commitment made in the Fall Economic Statement to provide stability and support for our key industry.
In addition, in the Budget the government granted the request made in FilmOntario’s Budget Submission to create a Ministers’ Film and Television Advisory Panel, which will include the Ministers of Finance and of Tourism, Culture and Sport, to provide input on industry trends and ways to grow production in the province. The government also announced that they will be reviewing the tax credit certification process “to streamline administration and reduce application processing times.” We will continue to work with our partners at Ontario Creates and the Ministries of Finance and Tourism, Culture and Sport on these Budget initiatives.
There is also a change to the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (OIDMTC) that reduces the threshold for companies to qualify as “video game developers” from $1 million to $500,000, allowing smaller companies to begin applying for the credit annually. This will be in effect for companies with taxation years commencing after April 11, 2019.
Overall this is a very good news Budget for our industry and indicates that the government is getting the message that the screen-based industries create jobs and investment in the province of Ontario. Thank you to all FilmOntario members for your support – we couldn’t do what we do without you.
If you have any questions about the Budget, please do not hesitate to be in touch.