The Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, has written to the Chancellor ahead of this month’s Budget, urging her to introduce further tax relief for the British film industry.

In her letter, Dame Caroline welcomes the Government’s decision to recognise film and TV as a ‘frontier industry’ in its Industrial Strategy (for more, click here) and points out the success of the Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC) and additional relief for visual effects (discussed here).

However, she is clear that the Government needs to go further, and expresses disappointment at the rather lukewarm response that her Committee’s report into British Film and High End TV received when it was published earlier this year.

One of the Committee’s recommendations in that report was the introduction of a 25% tax relief for the Prints and Advertising (P&A) costs of films claiming the IFTC. The letter repeats this call, arguing that the effectiveness of the IFTC – which has helped more films get made – would be enhanced if measures were taken to ensure that those films are properly distributed and exhibited.

Dame Caroline also highlights work that has been commissioned by the Film Distributors’ Association which suggests that the Exchequer would see a return of £7 for every £1 spent on the proposed P&A relief. This is in addition to the benefits that would be experienced not only by cinema, filmmakers and distributors, but also advertising and marketing businesses.

Commenting on the letter, Dame Caroline said, “the introduction of the Independent Film Tax Credit in the last Budget has provided a welcome boost to our film industry, but without proper marketing many great British films end up missing out on the audiences they deserve. With the Government’s industrial strategy recognising film and TV as a frontier industry, the Chancellor now has the chance to follow through on the Government’s commitment, support the independent film sector and demonstrate that she recognises the potential it has to drive growth and create jobs.”

To read the letter in full, click here.