A public consultation on Section 481 tax relief has been initiated by the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan TD.
The Minister has published a consultation paper which invites interested parties to make submissions as part of an economic impact assessment of the operation, status and future development of the Section 481 tax relief, commonly referred to as ‘film relief’. The consultation period will run from May 28 to July 31 2012.
Although the scheme was already extended until the end of 2015 under Finance Act 2011, the Minister decided to launch the public consultation without hesitation in order to make timely decisions for the future of the scheme after 2015. Following the consultation, the Department hopes to ‘better understand the benefits that may accrue to the exchequer in terms of additional tax yield as well as consequences for investors, the audiovisual industry and the wider economy arising from potential changes to the relief’.
Section 481 tax relief has been in place in its original format since 1984. It serves to promote the Irish film making industry by encouraging investment in Irish made films which make a significant contribution to the national economy and the Exchequer. According to the press release issued by the Department of Finance, Section 481 of the Taxes Consolidations Act, 1997 is one of the longest running sector specific tax reliefs in the country.