March 23, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MANITOBA ANNOUNCES A 30% ALL SPEND FILM TAX CREDIT – THE HIGHEST SPEND CREDIT IN CANADA

Winnipeg, Manitoba – The Manitoba Provincial Government today announced that it has introduced a new tax credit that will give producers the option to go for either a 30% tax credit on all eligible local expenditures, including labour, or use the existing up to 65%* labour tax credit. This new option will be available for productions that start principal photography after March 2010. In addition to the introduction of Manitoba’s new tax credit, which is the highest all spend credit in Canada, the Province also renewed the existing labour credit which was set to expire March 1, 2011 for another three years until March 1, 2014.

The introduction of a Manitoba-spend credit is a clear signal to the film and television industry that Manitoba is committed to maintaining its place as one of Canada’s key production centres. The labour based tax credit led the way in the development of a strong indigenous industry, infrastructure and skilled crews and attracted production from around the world, and now, with the option of a 30% credit on all eligible local expenditures, an incentive exists to support and grow local infrastructure. Productions will assess whether the *up to 65% labour credit or the 30% all-spend credit, which includes labour, will be more beneficial, and this will depend on the nature of each particular production.

Carole Vivier, CEO of Manitoba Film & Music stated, “Manitoba was the first in Canada to introduce a Frequent Filming Bonus, along with a labour tax credit that is the best in Canada. As the world’s economic situation continues to shift; we have to be readily competitive with other jurisdictions that have amended or added all spend incentives. As proven in the past, this new spend incentive will stimulate further growth in Manitoba’s film industry and infrastructure. With this increase, the provincial government has demonstrated that the film and television sectors are worth continued investment. We are very excited of what’s to come as a result and very thankful for the continued support from the Province.”

Tara Walker, Executive Director of On Screen Manitoba added, “The film and television industry is important both to the economic and cultural well-being of our province. It contributed $365 million to the economy from 2003/04 to 2007/08, employing thousands of Manitobans and helping showcase Manitoba to the world.”

We thank the Province for continuing to recognize the value of the screen-based media industry in Manitoba's growing knowledge-based economy. This innovative Manitoba Spend incentive will provide a much needed boost to our competitive advantages and is designed to support our indigenous industry and attract productions from outside the province, which will save jobs and protect our industry infrastructure.”

Jamie Brown, CEO of Frantic Films commented, “We are very pleased that the government has taken steps to ensure that Manitoba remains competitive in the multi-billion dollar Canadian film and television industry. Their decision today will maintain and create new jobs and opportunities for Manitobans.”

Full details of the amended Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit when available.

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For more information please contact:

Carole Vivier
CEO and Film Commissioner
MANITOBA FILM & MUSIC
carole@mbfilmmusic.ca
Office: 204-947-2040
www.mbfilmmusic.ca

or

Tara Walker
Executive Director
On Screen Manitoba
tara@onscreenmanitoba.com
Cell: 204-290-8537
Office: 204-927-5893
www.onscreenmanitoba.com