The Quebec government has raised the tax credit for provincial film and TV producers as part of a province-wide economic rescue package.

Quebec Finance Minister Monique Jérôme-Forget on Wednesday announced that the province’s two main refundable tax credits for indigenous film and TV productions will go from base rates of 29.17% to 35%, and from 39.38% to 45%, respectively, effective Jan. 1, 2009.

The province will also introduce a 10% bonus for more commercial film and TV projects that do not qualify for public funding. Other stimulus measures from Quebec City include the elimination of a cap of $2.18 million per film or TV project.

‘These measures bolster our economic plan. We are taking concrete steps to support the economy, while keeping within the state’s financial capacity,’ Jérôme-Forget told the Quebec legislature.

Quebec film commissioner Hans Fraikin welcomed the hikes in tax credits administered by SODEC.

‘These are actions for the industry that are both important and beneficial in the short run and in the long run,’ Fraikin said.

‘This is excellent news to start 2009,’ he added.

The Quebec film commissioner said the province is considering new incentives for foreign, mostly American producers that shoot in Quebec, and that announcements could come by the summer.

Montreal currently has no major U.S. productions, with its soundstages filled instead by local projects.

Quebec faces strong competition to lure American producers from states like New York and Michigan that offer generous tax credits of their own.

Encouraged by stepped-up scouting in Montreal by the Americans in recent months, Fraikin said the low Canadian dollar, and an eventual end to the dispute in Hollywood between major studios and the Screen Actors Guild, could usher in a resumption in local shooting by American producers.