17/11/2003

The Irish producers’ association, Screen Producers Ireland (SPI) has given a positive reaction to the indications given by the government’s Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, saying that its final report will recommend the retention of a tax relief for film and TV until the end of 2007.

According to Andrew Lowe from SPI, government officials who met at the recent Committee’s session, “broadly accepted that there is a return to the exchequer on its investment made in film tax incentives”. “We are pleased to hear the report produced on behalf of the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism and the Irish Film Board supports this position, and there is also widespread agreement about the additional cultural benefits of a robust Irish film industry”, he added.

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SPI also said it supports the government and the Revenue Commissioners’ role in policing the access to the tax incentives and in its recent report, it has even recommended the establishment of a Certification Standard Authority, set up with independent production and financing expertise to assist the regulatory authorities with the implementation of Section 481 compliance (Editor’s Note the rules governing the Irish tax incentives for films).
“SPI is fully supportive of the new guidelines for certifying investments eligible for Section 481, and the SPI was part of the consultative process when these guidelines were drafted”, stressed Andrew Lowe.