Call to increase tax relief for UK film industry ‘facing difficulties’

The UK’s independent film industry has suffered “unprecedented difficulties” due to increasing competition, the decline in the DVD market and the rise of streaming platforms such as Amazon and Netflix, a new study has found.

While spending on movie production in the UK has rocketed since tax incentives were introduced in 2007, reaching its highest figure in 2016 since measurement began, independent film has suffered.

Now the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television, which commissioned the study, has called for the UK tax credit for British independent films with budgets between £2 million and £10 million to be increased from 25% to 40%.