The Ontario Film & Television Tax Credit (OFTTC) generates an estimated $3.40 in gross domestic product (GDP) for each dollar refunded, according to a new study commissioned by not-for-profit industry consortium FilmOntario.

Benefit Assessment of Ontario’s Film and Television Tax Credits was commissioned by PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC) and digs into the impact tax credits have on Ontario’s allure as a production hub.

The study concludes that “86.5% of the production activity that happens in Ontario is directly attributable to the presence of our tax credits,” according to FilmOntario. If Ontario’s tax credits were abolished, between 73% to 100% of production spending would be lost to other jurisdictions, the report estimates.

PwC also estimates that Ontario’s film and TV production sector saw overall production growth by 70% between 2012 and 2019. The study did not include 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study said that overall production activity in 2019 contributed to $2.2 billion in GDP and supported more than 42,000 jobs. It states that each dollar refunded through provincial tax credits supports approximately $2.50 in labour income for the province.

Ontario Creates previously reported that overall production spend in Ontario came to $2.16 billion in 2019, which was a record-breaking figure at the time. The province would later attract a record $2.88 billion in production spend in 2021.

The Ontario government proposed a number of amendments to the OFTTC in the 2022 budget last April, including increased eligibility for digital productions and regional bonuses for productions based outside of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. While the government re-committed to the proposed amendments in the fall economic statement last November, the amendments have not been tabled as of press time.

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