Portfolio Media
Ciobo to provide boost to Australian film industry
18 November 2009
Shadow Arts Minister Steven Ciobo has proposed a key change to the Producer Offset designed to fuel more productions and more jobs in Australia’s film and television industries.
Mr Ciobo has tabled in Federal Parliament a Private Member’s Bill designed to help the industry and the government derive greater benefit from the Producer Offset and provide the industry a much needed shot in the arm.
Mr Ciobo’s Bill proposes a change to tax laws designed to encourage the tax office to allow producers to lodge their tax return immediately on completion of a production, rather than having to wait until the end of the financial year for lodgement.
Mr Ciobo said he was taking up the challenge of reforming the Offset as Arts Minister Peter Garrett had failed to act on changes, despite repeated representations from the industry.
“Minister Garrett has sat on his hands for more than two years in government while the industry made it very clear how the Offset could be improved,” Mr Ciobo said.
“I’m now standing up for the film industry and am challenging Minister Garrett to do the same by backing this simple and very achievable change.”
“Under the current lodgement arrangements, neither producers nor the government are getting the full benefit which was anticipated from the Offset,” Mr Ciobo said.
“This has meant significant cashflow issues for producers (exacerbated by the global financial crisis), many of whom have not been able to make projects stack up and been forced to scrap them.”
“Another consequence of it has been the bunching of productions in the latter part of the financial year, making it harder for productions to source personnel, post-production services and facilities.”
Mr Ciobo said the change was timely for an industry which has been battling the combined effects of the global financial crisis, a scarcity of private investment and a high Australian dollar.
“I hope changes to the timing of the Offset not only make life easier for producers wanting to make films and television in Australia, but will encourage a greater number of big-ticket international feature films which have been increasingly scarce in recent times.”
Geoff Brown, the executive director of the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA), welcomed Mr Ciobo’s move, saying it would help the Producer Offset legislation to work in the way it was intended.
“We are greatly encouraged by the Coalition’s interest in addressing the timing of the Producer Offset and administrative costs of acquitting it, which complicate and undermine its impact,” Mr Brown said.
Mr Ciobo said the film industry had advised him the end-of-year lodgement requirement had also fuelled the establishment of complex and costly business structures such as “single-purpose vehicles” with different year-end dates.
“This created even further erosion of the benefit of the Offset to producers,” Mr Ciobo said. “Improving the understanding of the tax office will smooth out the resources available to producers and alleviate the stress for producers of having to cashflow the Offset for the period until its acquittal.”