Montreal: Finance Minister Paul Martin has announced transitional relief for production services financings under a limited partnership tax shelter for service companies by extending qualifying spending to July 31, 1997. Investors will receive a benefit for calendar ’97.

Finance Canada appears to have responded to arguments that its surprise Nov. 18 ruling shutting down the shelter would result in the loss of jobs.

In a Dec. 2 story in Playback, promoters and other interests including trade unions said the shutdown would impact negatively on planned foreign film and tv shoots in Canada, especially in b.c. where foreign production represents 70% to 80% and more of all production.

Summer productions starting in July or later will not qualify as the ruling now stands.

Says Jeff Rayman, president of Alliance Equipcap: ‘The production service business is the most mobile business on the planet. Anything you can do to create an inducement to get production up here is beneficial to the country, both regionally and nationally,’ he says.

The benefit of the production service shelter to foreign producers is estimated to be 6% to 8%, a payout promoters say is enough to tip location decisions in Canada’s favor.

‘We are talking about jobs here. If we are not going to get Telefilm (Canada) money to create those jobs we’ve got to get them from somewhere else,’ says Arthur Evrensel, a partner with Heenan Blaikie in Vancouver.