Audio Visual Tax Relief Consultation – deadline 9 February 2023

The government recently announced that it was reviewing the current Audio Visual tax relief regime.

The government is seeking to simplify and modernise the tax relief regime to boost growth in audio visual sectors and ensure that the reliefs remain sustainable.

Creative Industries tax relief has been key to supporting and incentivising the UK’s world-leading animation, high-end TV, children’s TV and video games industries over the past years. Many leading indie TV producers and games companies have benefitted from the regime, and its success since its introduction in 2013 has been well documented.

The proposed reforms include:

• Merging film and TV reliefs into a single tax credit scheme
• Modernising high-end TV relief by revising expenditure thresholds and slot lengths
• Simplifying Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR) and refocusing on UK expenditure
• Switching from a system of tax reliefs to a system of expenditure credits.

The reforms are expected to be implemented in Spring 2024.

The government is seeking feedback from a wide range of stakeholders in the creative industries, specifically in the audio visual sector, on its proposals for the reform of the regime.

The implications of the reforms will be far reaching for film, TV and games companies. You can find out more information on the proposed reforms and how to can provide feedback here:

Audio-visual tax reliefs: consultation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you have any questions regarding this article please contact partner, Laura Harper