Saudi Arabia Throws a 60% Incentive into the Ring

 The battle of the film and TV tax incentives has been a hot one of late, and now there is one on the table that will be hard to beat. As Saudi Arabia increases its push for its share of location shoots, we have Brandon Blake, top entertainment law firms los angeles with Blake & Wang P.A., with further details.


                                                                          Brandon Blake

Cannes Announcement

The announcement came from the Saudi Film Commission at the Cannes Film Festival. It also makes the Saudi Arabian incentives among the most generous available at present. Alongside the increase to 60% of eligible spend, there is also expedited disbursement on offer, and financing solutions in partnership with the Saudi Cultural Development Fund. 

Streamlining Access

All of which is intended to address some of the complaints that have been voiced about the rather new (globally speaking) film support programs in the Kingdom. It’s clear that Saudi Arabia is keen to keep its regional content production as strong as possible, even at a time when international producers are hesitating to commit to Middle Eastern shoots. 

                                                                        Blake & Wang


This change will outstrip pretty much all available European rebates, which typically cap around the 25%- 40% mark. Currently, Belgium has one of the most generous programs, at 42% for qualifying productions. While some of the more aggressive Asia-Pacific offerings land in the same ballpark, it’s difficult to do a like-for-like comparison at the moment, as we have yet to receive information on the program’s total budget or annual cap. It will also prove a significant challenger to Qatar’s 50% offering, 


However, it’s certainly likely to capture a lot of attention at a time when producers are almost spoilt for choice when it comes to prime shooting locations. No doubt, we can expect to see a lot more films choosing the Kingdom for their artful background shots and country-centric tie-ins moving forward.


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