NEWS | Wednesday, 19 December 2007

New financial incentives for film industry launched

A new set of financial incentives to sustain the growing film industry in Malta was announced recently by Minister for Investments, Industry and Information Technology Austin Gatt during a press conference at the Ministry in Valletta.
The new set of financial incentives comprise a cash rebate of up to 22 per cent on a production’s European Union (EU) expenditure incurred during filming in Malta. This new legislation is one of the first such schemes in Europe to be approved by the European Union and is fully compliant with its State Aid requirements.
This new set of incentives means that Malta now had an unprecedented advantageous position in remaining a viable and competitive film location whilst encouraging its creative and cultural contribution to international productions. Gatt said that in today’s competitive locations and complicated film financing situation, incentives remained a prerequisite for productions and often determined the choice of where to film.
He also announced that the extended incentives are now applied to expenditure on Maltese and EU labour and services incurred during shooting in Malta, as well as on accommodation on the island. These were aimed at helping to offset Malta’s comparative disadvantage due to its size and limitation.
This new set of incentives also includes specific incentives aimed at very low-budget films which can qualify in specific calls for application and which are eligible for an extra 10 per cent cash rebate. This will help the development of the local indigenous industry by allowing Maltese production companies to claim a rebate of up to 32 per cent on their qualifying expenditure.
Gatt said that for the first time in Malta, a specific portion of available funds would be marked for difficult and low-budget films (less then € 100,000), thus granting access to local productions.
He described these incentives as the most important contribution of the Government’s constant improvement of the infrastructure to host productions in Malta.
2007 saw an extremely successful year, with 13 productions shooting for 190 days and spending an estimated €7.45 million. These productions will receive a total of around € 1.2 million in the form of financial incentives.
Gatt added that 2008 looked promising with several productions lined up for the first half of the year.