British Columbia was known as Hollywood North by the late 1970s. There are wonderful talent of highly trained people and a resemblance to L.A. in British Columbia. Unfortunately, the industry within British Columbia has been depreciating, as the government does not do anything about the tax credits that has brought up the industry.
In 2000, British Columbia’s film and television industry went over the billion-dollar mark in production. The growth was mainly contributed by the tax credits for labour costs. However in 2009, Ontario and Quebec raised their tax credits that took away a lot of the production from British Columbia. In 2011, British Columbia was behind Ontario. By 2012, there was a $134 million drop in production and 3500 film related jobs lost.
The film and television industry has a very big contribution to British Columbia’s economy, and so the government definitely has to rethink its’ policy on tax credits. The tax credit is the amount reduced from the total amount that a taxpayer owes. Every industry wants to maximise their profits (Revenue – Costs= Profits), and since tax is a cost they would want to find the cheapest and most economical location possible for production. British Columbia cannot lose such a valuable industry!
Bibliography:
Heyman, George. “The Vancouver Sun.” Opinion: Province’s Film Industry Deserves Support Now. N.p., 13 July 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Province film industry deserves support/8719013/story.html>.
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