October 29, 2013
Province Partners with Local Film, New Media Industry to Create Good Jobs, Grow the Economy: Premier
– – –Local Industry Supports Over 6,000 Jobs, Over $350 Million in GDP Impact Over Past Five Years: Economic Impact Study
An economic impact study released today by On Screen Manitoba reports that Manitoba’s media production industry has emerged stronger than ever from the 2008 economic downturn thanks to support from the provincial government’s media-based corporate tax credits, Premier Greg Selinger said today. The five-year period has seen the industry rebound with the launch of new companies generating good jobs, according to the study.
“The media production industry thrives on the energies of highly skilled and creative people and with the drive of entrepreneurs who aren’t afraid to compete with the world,” the premier said. “We are pleased to partner with the industry, which is growing in sophistication and creating new products, good jobs and new economic opportunities.”
Since 2008-09, the media production industry has produced 336 projects, an average of 67 per year. Of those projects, 64 per cent (or 43 per year) were domestic productions and another 18 per cent (or 12 per year) were co-productions with out-of-province companies.
“In the past five years, we have seen Manitoba media production companies take greater control over their own projects and the intellectual rights that come with them,” said the premier. “Manitoba companies have developed the business skills and are well positioned to reap the benefits of owning these rights as they sell their productions to broadcasters and distributors around the world.”
The premier noted that in the last two years, Manitoba’s production industry, which includes Aboriginal companies, has developed major animation and visual effects capabilities. For example, Opus VFX, a division of Buffalo Gal Pictures, has worked on a range of large Hollywood productions including Avatar, Superman Returns and X-Men.
According to a recent study by Nordicity, commissioned by On Screen Manitoba, the media production industry in Manitoba had a total GDP impact of $357 million over the last five years, with an annual contribution of $71.4 million. In the same period, the industry attracted about $291 million (or an average of $58.2 million annually) in production financing from outside of the province. These productions resulted in the equivalent of about 6,333 full-time jobs between 2008-09 and 2012-13, with an average annual employment of 1,267 per year.
The provincial government supports the media production industry by offering the Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit, which is based on eligible salaries paid to Manitoba residents and qualifying non‑resident employees (deemed residents) for work performed on an eligible film or video produced in Manitoba. The basic rate of the credit is 45 per cent. In combination with incentives to encourage frequent filming in Manitoba and filming in rural and northern locations, as well as a five per cent Manitoba producer bonus, a film project may be eligible for up to a 65 per cent credit on eligible salaries.
Beginning in 2010, production companies have had the option to claim either the maximum 65 per cent labour-based film tax credit or a new 30 per cent tax credit based on production costs incurred and paid for labour, goods and services provided in Manitoba that are directly attributable to the production of an eligible film.
The province also supports the media production industry through the Manitoba Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit which is equal to 40 per cent of the remuneration paid to Manitobans on eligible projects to a maximum of $500,000 per project. Production firms can also claim up to $100,000 in eligible marketing and distribution expenses that are directly attributable to an eligible project.
Recent enhancements to the Manitoba Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit in Budget 2013 include:
- companies may claim up to $100,000 in eligible marketing and distribution expenses that are directly attributable to an eligible project,
- financial support from the Canada Media Fund is recoupable or repayable will not be treated as government assistance,
- an eligible product that is developed under contract for an arm’s-length purchaser does not need to demonstrate the product will be resold or licensed by that arm’s-length purchaser, and
- a broader interpretation of the sale requirement will provide the province with added flexibility in determining which types of commercialization projects will be eligible.
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