Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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170. To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated cost of a proposal (details supplied). [36127/24]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by Revenue that information in respect of project-level eligible expenditure in relation to a single year is not available. Revenue tracks the cost for section 481 projects based on when claims are made, and in any single year, claims may be made, and payments made, in respect of projects certified across multiple years. As such, there is no basis upon which to prepare an estimated costing in respect of the Deputy’s question.

In addition, VFX projects, and the VFX element of eligible costs, are not separately identifiable in the data captured by Revenue.

The Deputy may wish to note that the latest estimates of costs in respect of film relief as a whole are available in the Cost of Tax Expenditures publication on the Revenue website at: .

The cost in a given tax year is based on claims made by taxpayers on the corporation tax return (Form CT1) for that year. The Form CT1 may include claims relating to multiple projects, which may have been certified in several years. A claim for film relief can be made in two stages – a first claim may be made in advance of production based on the budgeted expenditure, and a final claim may be made on completion of production for the value of the credit less any amount already received (known as a ‘balancing claim’). The relief is claimed by amending the Form CT1 for a preceding tax year. Due to the nature of this claims mechanism, the yearly data in the “Cost of Tax Expenditures” publication reflects claims to date in respect of each relevant year and is subject to revision.

Having regard to the limitations in available Revenue data, an indicative cost for the Deputy's proposal has been calculated by Department officials. This estimate is based on data currently available to my Department regarding the value of Section 481 cultural certificates issued in 2022 and 2023 by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. It is worth noting that some of these projects will not yet have been finalised with Revenue due to the method in which Section 481 can be claimed, as previously outlined.

Based on certificates issued in relation to productions with a projected eligible expenditure of €20 million or less, it is estimated that the cost of the additional credit a production would receive if the film tax credit rate were set at 40% as opposed to 32%, for all Section 481 projects, is in the region of €23 million per annum. It is also worth noting that Section 481 is a demand led scheme and the costing is based on past activity, it does not factor in any behavioural change that could occur as a result of the introduction of such a measure.