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Amendment of section 481 of Principal Act (relief for investment in films)
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48. (1) Section 481 of the Principal Act is amended—
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(a) in subsection (1)—
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(i) by the insertion of the following definitions:
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“ ‘EEA Agreement’ means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992 as adjusted by all subsequent amendments to that Agreement;
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‘EEA state’ means a state, other than the State, which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement;
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‘key creative role’, in relation to a qualifying film, means—
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(a) the film director,
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(b) the film screenwriter, or
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(c) any other such similar creative role of appropriate seniority as may be specified in regulations made under subsection (2E);
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‘lower budget film’ means a qualifying film—
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(a) which is a feature film or animated film of feature length,
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(b) in the production of which one or more key creative roles are performed by individuals who are nationals of, or ordinarily resident in, the State or another EEA state, and
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(c) in respect of which the qualifying expenditure, as determined in accordance with regulations made under subsection (2E), incurred on the production of the film is less than €20,000,000;”,
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and
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(ii) in the definition of “film corporation tax credit”, by the substitution of “subsections (1B) and (1C)” for “subsection (1B)”,
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(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1B):
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“(1C) (a) Where a producer company expects a film to be a lower budget film, the producer company, in making its application under subsection (1A), may apply for the certificate mentioned in that subsection to specify, in addition to that mentioned in that subsection, that an increased film corporation tax credit (in this section referred to as the ‘enhanced credit for lower budget film’) may apply as provided for in paragraph (c).
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(b) In considering whether, in the certification applied for, he or she should specify that the enhanced credit for lower budget film may apply, the Minister, in accordance with regulations made under subsection (2E), shall have regard to whether the film is expected to satisfy the criteria set out in paragraphs (a) to (c) of the definition of ‘lower budget film’ in subsection (1).
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(c) Where—
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(i) the certificate issued under subsection (2) specifies that the enhanced credit for lower budget film may apply,
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(ii) on completion of production, the qualifying film satisfies the conditions and obligations required by this section, and
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(iii) the qualifying film is a lower budget film,
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then, the producer company shall—
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(I) in making the claim for the film corporation tax credit under subsection (2G)(b)(ii), calculate the value of the enhanced credit for lower budget film as if, in the definition of ‘film corporation tax credit’ in subsection (1), ‘40 per cent’ were substituted for ‘32 per cent’ for that purpose, or
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(II) where a claim has been made for the film corporation tax credit under subsection (2G)(b)(i), in making the claim for the film corporation tax credit under subsection (2G)(b)(ii), calculate the value of the enhanced credit for lower budget film as if, in the definition of ‘film corporation tax credit’ in subsection (1), ‘40 per cent’ were substituted for ‘32 per cent’ for that purpose, less any amount already claimed pursuant to subsection (2G)(b)(i).”,
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(c) in subsection (2)—
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(i) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii):
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“(ii) specifying—
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(I) whether or not the regional film development uplift applies, if appropriate, or
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(II) whether or not the enhanced credit for lower budget film may apply, if appropriate.”,
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and
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(ii) in paragraph (b)—
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(I) in subparagraph (iii), by the substitution of “in the State,” for “in the State, and”,
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(II) in subparagraph (iv), by the substitution of “if appropriate, and” for “if appropriate,”, and
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(III) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iv):
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“(v) the criteria referred to in subsection (1C)(b), if appropriate,”,
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and
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(d) in subsection (2E), by the insertion of—
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(i) the following paragraph after paragraph (b):
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“(ba) specifying the roles of appropriate seniority that may be regarded as key creative roles for the purposes of an application for, and certification in respect of, the enhanced credit for lower budget film in accordance with this section,”,
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and
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(ii) the following paragraph after paragraph (la):
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“(lb) specifying the criteria to be considered by the Minister, in relation to the criteria referred to in subsection (1C)(b)—
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(i) in deciding whether, in the certificate applied for under subsection (1A), he or she should specify that the enhanced credit for lower budget film may apply, and
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(ii) in specifying conditions in such a certificate, as provided for in subsection (2)(b),
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and the information required for those purposes to be included in the application made to the Minister under subsection (1A) by a producer company,”.
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(2) Subsection (1) shall apply to a qualifying film (within the meaning of section 481 of the Principal Act) in respect of which the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media issues a certificate (within the said meaning) after the coming into operation of this section.
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(3) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.
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