New Zealand screen production incentive

Amendments have been made to the Income Tax Act 2007 to provide that the tax treatment of expenditure on a film does not depend on whether the film receives a New Zealand screen production incentive. The amendments also provide that special tax treatment of expenditure on films that receive a large budget screen production grant is also expressly applied to expenditure on films that receive a post-production digital and visual effects grant.

Background

The Taxation (International Taxation, Life Insurance and Remedial Matters) Act 2009 amended the Income Tax Act 2007 to give expenditure on films receiving a New Zealand screen production incentive the same treatment as expenditure on films receiving a large budget screen production grant. These amendments reverse that decision.

Key features

Amendments have been made to the Income Tax Act 2007 to provide that the tax treatment of expenditure on a film does not depend on whether the film receives a New Zealand screen production incentive.

The special treatment under the Act of expenditure on films that receive a large budget screen production grant has been also expressly applied to expenditure on films that receive a post-production digital and visual effects grant. This amendment confirmed the current treatment of such expenditure.

The amendments to the Income Tax Act 2007 included the removal of the definition of "government screen production payment" and the insertion of a definition of "large budget film grant", which means a large budget screen production grant or a post-production digital and visual effects grant.

A definition of "government screen production payment" has been inserted in the Tax Administration Act 1994 for the purposes of provisions relating to the transfer of information on films receiving a New Zealand screen production incentive, a large budget screen production grant, or a post-production digital and visual effects grant.

Application date

The amendments apply from 1 January 2010, the date the previous, now reversed, amendments, applied from.