The B.C. production industry has high hopes that the provincial government is planning to level the playing field, and match Ontario and Quebec’s lucrative 25% all-spend incentives. And soon.
‘Time is of the essence,’ says Peter Leitch, chair of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of B.C. ‘We are losing projects to Ontario and we are being asked by our clients [American studios] what the government is going to do.’
Industry reps say it’s critical that the Sept. 1 provincial budget include a beefed-up tax credit.
Several options have been put forward, including asking the government to implement a 25% all-spend credit on an interim basis (for one year to 18 months) to deal with the immediate issue, while setting up a task force to explore long-term solutions.
‘We may look at some shorter-term measures to defend the business right now, but we’d like to look at it in the context of what’s sustainable over the longer term,’ says Leitch.
‘It’s easy to say we have to match Ontario, that’s the only option. And maybe that is the best solution. But if there’s something else we can do that is more sustainable over the long term, I’d prefer that to an incentive that will expire in a year or two.’
If the B.C. government refuses to go the all-spend route, another option is increasing the 25% labor tax credit in hope of offsetting some of the loss, while the province’s other advantages – experienced crews, large studios and locations – make up the difference. Some suggest that the labor rebate would have to be at least 40% to come close to parity with Ontario.
Liz Shorten of the B.C. producers branch of the CFTPA says whatever the scenario, the industry has to work with the government to come up with a solution quickly.
‘Our message to government is, whatever it takes, whatever options will work within their fiscal realities, to ensure this industry continues to be one of the bright lights of the creative economy in B.C.,’ says Shorten.
Some producers are skeptical that the government has an appetite for increasing the credit. Brightlight Pictures, for example, is opening a Toronto office and moving production because it doesn’t expect B.C. to match the Ontario incentive.
But Leitch remains optimistic.
‘I think the government recognizes we can’t afford to let another province get so aggressive that it destroys the infrastructure that we’ve built up over the past 20 years – that just doesn’t make any sense,’ he says. ‘They just want to be very careful that the decision they make provides solutions for the long term.’