HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s politicians still can’t agree on whether replacing the film tax credit with an incentive fund was the right move.
MLAs on the Public Accounts committee heard from top bureaucrats in the finance department and at Nova Scotia Business Inc., about the impact of the change. Opposition MLAs had tense exchanges with the witnesses, sometimes cutting off their answers and questioning the statistics they were referencing.
The $24 million film tax credit was axed in the spring budget, and replaced with a $10 million film incentive fund. The industry says the biggest problem with the new system is it creates uncertainty for productions because they have to go through an application process to get the funds, rather than being automatically eligible.
NSBI’s CEO Laurel Broten said repeatedly that there is still a lot of money left in the fund for production companies to apply for. So far $1.6 million has been dedicated to projects. The said the industry has faced challenges in the last year.
“There’s no doubt there was a period of time of lack of clarity and certainty. But as of the launch of this new fund, as of the detailed approach in information there is a great deal of certainty,” Broten said.
READ MORE: Replacement for N.S. film tax credit officially launches
In a heated exchange with Progressive Conservative MLA Tim Houston, Deputy Finance Minister George McLellan told the committee, under the old system the province didn’t get a good return for its investment. “I do not believe it was a good return when we put out ($24 million) and get ($6 million) back, the intention is to stimulate the economy so we can get return back to reinvest in services.”
The Liberal government has previously argued taxpayers weren’t getting good value for the $24 million investment. However, Screen Nova Scotia says the province’s own numbers in 2013 showed the industry was worth $139 million.
McLellan said the $139 million also includes television networks and so its too broad.
Screen Nova Scotia says an independent review of the industry’s value to Nova Scotia will be released in the new year.
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