FilmOntario was pleased to make the attached submission (PDF) to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, in support of Bill 36: Progress on the Plan to Build Act (Budget Measures), 2022. Bill 36 implements the changes to the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit (OPSTC) that were announced in the Fall Economic Statement, expanding the eligibility of location fees. We support this enhancement to the OPSTC as a measure to increase the competitiveness of Ontario as a filming jurisdiction and to encourage the use of filming locations across the province.
We also took the opportunity to provide some suggestions for the promised regulatory changes that will expand the film and television tax credits to professional film and television productions distributed exclusively online. We encouraged the government to implement these changes in a way that is as user-friendly as possible, in order to not increase the regulatory burden on applicants to the tax credit, and particularly to the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit (OFTTC). In addition, we encouraged the government to move ahead with their consultations on simplifying the Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects (OCASE) tax credit and in reviewing the regional bonus in the OFTTC. Of course we offered to participate in these consultations in any way that is appropriate.
Finally, we thanked the government for their ongoing commitment to stable and effective film and television tax credits in the province of Ontario.
You can find the full text of the Fall Economic Statement here and a copy of Bill 36 here.