ZAGREB: Croatia joins the growing club of
countries from central and eastern Europe offering a tax rebate for audiovisual
productions shooting locally on 1 January 2012. FNE courtesy of the
Croatian Audiovisual Film Centre publishes a Q&A on how the new film
tax rebate will work. From more information see www.havc.hrType of incentive: Cash rebate.
How much is the benefit worth?
Projects can derive a
benefit of up to 20% of their qualifying expenditure.
Is there a cap on the amount that can be raised?
Yes,
there is a ceiling of €3m on qualifying local expenditure per project. The
minimum local spent per project is € 300.000.
What type of projects qualify?
The Rebate applies to
Feature Films, Documentaries, Short Films, Television Drama and Animation. The
Rebate does not apply to Commercials, Reality tv, Game Shows and Soaps.
What constitutes qualifying expenditure?
The benefit is
based on the cost of Croatian cast and crew working in Croatia, as well as goods
and services purchased in Croatia.
How it works from the foreign producer's point of
view?
The foreign producer must team up with a local Croatian
co-producer. The Croatian co producer applies to the Croatian Audiovisual Centre
(HAVC) for a provisional certificate before the start of production, and for a
final certificate upon completion of the production in Croatia. The Croatian
co-producer is responsible for compliance with prescribed formal requirements.
The Croatian producer provides the full range of production services including
locations scouting, scheduling, budgeting, casting, crewing and takes full
responsibility for all production services carried out in the State throughout
the life-span of the production.
When is it paid?
The net benefit will be made available
on completion of production, audit of the final cost statement and evidence that
all the requirements have been met.
Is there a cultural test a project must pass or some other criteria
it must meet?
Yes. The Croatian cultural test comprises three
categories: ‘cultural content', ‘creative talents' and
‘production'. |
