ICT sector supports govt tax credits to Avatar

Published: 1:26PM Monday January 25, 2010

Source: ONE News / NZPA

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Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana as her digital character Neytiri in a scene from the film Avatar - Source: Reuters

Watch Video NZI Business February 1: Push to include gaming and online content in tax breaks (3:23)

ICT Industry body NZICT has backed the government's film tax credit scheme following the government's decision to give nearly $45 million in taxpayer money towards movie blockbuster Avatar.

Avatar recently won best picture and other gongs at the Golden Globe awards and is on track to be the biggest grossing movie of all time.

Much of the digital post-production work was done in Wellington by Weta Digital, and the makers received $44.69 million from the Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSPG).

The LBSPG offers a 15% rebate on production expenditure over a certain value within New Zealand.

The Avatar credits earned the wrath of Green Party co-leader Russel Norman who said the grant was "excessive" and that the subsidy should be capped.

But Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee said on Sunday that the grant delivered more than $307 million in expenditure to the New Zealand economy.

"Attracting large budget film productions here offers wider benefits to the economy, including increased opportunities for New Zealanders as well as tourism benefits from having New Zealand locations shown to an international audience," he said.

NZICT CEO Brett O'Riley says the credits supports other digital companies in the supply chain, not just Weta, such as software and game development companies, and online content.

"We need to look forward and support the digital sector, which will in turn supply jobs and gains for our economy," he says.

O'Riley believes the LBSPG should be expanded to include those working on short movies, online games and mobile media.

"These industries are creating intellectual property for New Zealand on an unprecedented scale," he says.

Brownlee said that since the scheme began under the previous government in 2003, overseas movie and television productions had spent more than $1.42 billion in New Zealand, which resulted in grant payments of $NZ189.4 million.

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