UK Treasury Announces Tax Relief for Creative Industries
Tax relief for Britain’s creative industries, which would make the
UK a more attractive location for the production of big-budget
television shows, animation and video games, has been announced by the
government’s treasury department.
The proposed relief would be on a similar basis to that provided
to the British film industry since 2007, which amounted to an estimated £200m
saving in 2010-11.
TV Coalition, a pressure group whose members include
major names in television production, has welcomed the launch of a consultation
into plans announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s budget
speech in March, where he promised to introduce tax relief for creative
industries.
Andy Harries, chief executive
officer (CEO) of Left Bank Pictures, said: “British production talent is responsible for some
of the best television in the world and at the moment many productions, which
could very easily be shot in the UK, are being made abroad and many talented
creatives are moving elsewhere.”
Rachel Austin, tax director at Deloitte, commented that
companies should be told the value of the proposed reliefs as soon as possible in
order to begin building it into their planning processes. “If the government sets the rate of relief at the
right level, the proposals will increase the UK’s competitiveness in these
sectors encouraging additional investment in the UK and discouraging UK
companies from producing culturally British content in countries that already
offer incentives such as Ireland, Hungary and France,” she said. “The
government has also indicated that the proposed reliefs are likely to include
rules designed to prevent abuse, such as offloading the reliefs to private individuals,
through loss schemes.”