Revealing the first major plank of his party’s campaign platform, NDP leader Adrian Dix pledged yesterday to rescue the film and TV industry – on the same day Premier Christy Clark told Business in Vancouver that the province cannot afford to do so.
At a Vancouver Film Studios (VFS) news conference, Dix promised to boost production tax credits to 40% of labour costs – a 7% increase for foreign producers and 5% increase for domestic. The digital animation or visual effects tax credit would stay at 17.5% if the NDP wins the May 14 election.
“Focusing on labour costs here in B.C. makes more sense than an all-spend, which would include spending that I think would be less defensible for taxpayers,” Dix said. “I think it's the right decision. This allows us to match up and compete.”
Ontario instituted a 25% “all-spend” tax credit in 2009, which has lured productions east and led to job losses in the $1 billion B.C. industry that is already suffering from a more powerful Canadian dollar. A December 2011 estimate by VFS president Pete Mitchell showed a $160 million feature film would receive $23.4 million in tax credits in Ontario, $7.3 million more than in B.C.
The NDP estimates the incremental cost for B.C. taxpayers of increasing incentives for producers to spend more would be $45 million a year, but the net provincial revenue would be $93 million.
Peter Leitch, president of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of B.C. and general manager of North Shore Studios, is pleased, but hopes more is coming following the demise of the producer-friendly harmonized sales tax.
“This is a great step in the right direction. We don’t have to have the highest tax credits in North America – we just want to be competitive,” Leitch said. “We would like to be treated as any manufacturer, where you get the deduction for the PST.”
During a visit to the BIV offices yesterday, Premier Christy Clark told the editorial team that the film industry was important, but that the government can’t afford to spend more money on tax credits for film.
“Film is really an important industry in British Columbia,” said Clark. “It’s a great green industry and it really makes us proud, but you have to do what you can afford.”
Clark pointed to her government’s commitments, first announced in February, of a $6.25 million package for film. That funding included money to set up Creative BC, a society to promote creative industries, and to support an expansion of Emily Carr School of Art + Design.
On Monday, the B.C. government announced an additional $1 million in funding for Creative BC.
BIV reported in January that the governing Liberals had omitted the film and TV industry from its BC Jobs Plan.
That prompted the establishment of the #SaveBCFilm campaign, which attracted 5,000 people to an evening rally at North Shore Studios on January 22 – the same day Premier Christy Clark announced a $9.5 million taxpayer subsidy for the Times of India Film Awards.
Dix and NDP culture critic Spencer Chandra Herbert visited Hollywood studio executives on January 23 to promote B.C.’s industry, but Clark said the B.C. industry’s $285 million in tax credits was generous enough and no relief was offered in the February 19 budget.
Dix’s pledge yesterday was the biggest NDP film industry announcement since July 1999 when the party was in power, Glen Clark was premier and VFS owner David McLean received a $20 million taxpayer-funded loan to expand the Boundary and Grandview studio complex from four soundstages to 10.
McLean, who is also chair of CN, is one of Christy Clark’s biggest supporters. But, in 2012, he donated $9,100 through his companies to the NDP (link to story from Monday), according to Elections BC.
“If the NDP wanted to make an announcement of this type, we'd welcome it; if the Liberals decided that they wanted to make an announcement of this type, we would also welcome it,” McLean Group president Jason McLean told BIV. “This was really about the industry, it wasn't for us a very partisan move. This is something that needs to be talked about during this campaign and I’m glad this has started.”
