UK film and TV production investment hits new highs
Tax relief for the UK film and TV industry prompted record spending for the industry, a new report by the British Film Institute has found.
The overall economic contribution from the screen sector rose to £7.9bn in 2016, the BFI said, with £632m of tax breaks leading to investment of £3.2bn on the creation of films.
Film production accounted for £1.7bn of the total, high-end TV for £896.7m, and animation for £97.1m. In the first year that there was tax relief for kids programming, it accounted for £61m. The BFI also said 137,000 jobs were generated by tax-relief supported content.
Hailing “Peppa Pig,” “The Crown,” and “Darkest Hour”, Chancellor Philip Hammond said authorities are still committed to tax relief for UK-produced film and high-end TV.
The program started in 2007 and expenditure on feature film production in the UK has doubled since then. This increase in production has proven to be very beneficial for the UK economy which raised £2.04bn in tax revenue from the employment and economic activity generated by screen production supported by tax reliefs.
Hammond said the UK’s creative industries are “a key component of our great, global trading nation. I’m confident that the creative industries will continue to grow, provide strong employment and be the face of British culture to the world in future years,” he said.
BFI chief executive Amanda Nevill said: “The reliefs are also of huge cultural importance, enabling talent to produce the richest possible range of films, television programmes and video games, which create IP, and are loved by audiences both at home and around the world.”
The tax relief also benefited tourism with films such as Harry Potter, Paddington and Kingsman promoting tourism in the UK and featuring in travel campaigns. The report estimated that visitors to the UK spent almost £600m in film-related tourism.