Two reviews of film tax credits in Canada
In its spring budget, Nova Scotia announced cuts to its tax incentives for the film industry. There the industry spoke out, and the two sides have worked out a compromise. It left a lot of room for debate however, about the benefits of film industry incentives. We hear both sides.
In its spring budget, Nova Scotia promised sharp cuts to its program of tax incentives for film and tv productions.
That sparked a big pushback from people in the industry who said the cuts would kill the business in the province.
This week the two sides came to a compromise and the incentives will be restored in a new form.
But the whole issue opened up a debate over whether film tax credits really benefit the economy, or if they just create a competitive 'race to the bottom' in which jurisdictions undercut each other.
We get the thumbs up for tax credits from Scott Simpson, of Screen Nova Scotia, while the University of Ottawa's Michael Geist gives them the thumbs down.