PARIS: France’s revised tax incentive for movie producers has attracted several new international productions to the country, according to the national film commission.
Film France recently confirmed that 19 overseas productions have recently located to France, taking advantage of the improved Tax Rebate for International Production (TRIP) incentive, which was introduced in January 2016. These include such household names as Stephen Spielberg’s Dreamworks Animation, Disney Disney TV, Marvel Animation, and Paramount Animation.
The TRIP rebate offers a tax rebate equal to 30 percent of production expenditure, capped at EUR30m (USD33.75m) per project. To qualify for the rebate, the project must have a minimum budget of EUR1m or spend at least 50 percent of its total budget in France. Productions must also pass a cultural test which, according to Film France, assesses European cultural elements in the story as well as French and European locations, characters, sources, landmarks, creators, crew, and French technical hubs.
In order to avail of the TRIP incentive, foreign producers needs to contract a French company to make the film or animation product using a production service agreement. At the end of the French company’s fiscal year, the production services company claims the rebate, which is paid by the tax authorities between six and 18 months after the production’s budget is finally spent.
