Bryan Brown and Simon Baker celebrate win after convincing government not to dump much-needed tax break for Australian film industry
Australian acting royalty Simon Baker and Bryan Brown have helped to rollback the planned dumping of a tax break for filmmakers by the federal government.
The government planned to cut the 40 per cent ‘producer offset’ rate for Australian feature films with a theatrical release to 30 per cent of the film’s budget.
However, according to The Sunday Telegraph this week, the government will not only keep the offset, but will also extend emergency industry Covid funding.
Success! Actors including Bryan Brown, 73 (pictured) and Simon Baker, 51, are celebrating a win after the federal government decided to keep a big screen tax cut according to The Sunday Telegraph
It will extend the industry’s $50 million Temporary Interruption Fund, which covers COVID losses for another six months.
Also joining the lobbying efforts were fellow Australian actors Marta Dusseldorp and Justine Clarke.
The government intended to lift the producer offset rate for drama and documentary content for TV and streaming platforms from 20 to 30 per cent.
Changes: The government planned to cut the 40 per cent ‘producer offset’ rate for Australian feature films with a theatrical release to 30 per cent of the film’s budget. Pictured: Bryan Brown in The Thornbirds, 1983
The stars suggested the cut may have been the consequence of the government giving more money to overseas productions in the country.
It comes after Simon Baker spoke out over the planned changes last month.
‘What we need to do is protect for the future and help develop a richer, stronger more potent Australian voice,’ The Mentalist star said.
Canberra: Bryan (far left) was joined in his lobbying efforts by actors Justine Clarke (second left), Simon Baker (second right), and Marta Dusseldorp (far right)
Baker said the screen industry was a primary source for Australian voices to be heard.
‘We can understand more clearly who we are as a nation, we can celebrate the diverse aspects of our culture through what’s on screen,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Bryan Brown warned against the government reducing the producer offset – a refundable tax offset – to 30 per cent from 40 per cent.
‘We can understand more clearly who we are as a nation, we can celebrate the diverse aspects of our culture through what’s on screen’: It comes after Simon Baker spoke out over the planned changes last month
‘It seems like one of the reasons they’re doing this is because they’re chucking a lot of money at overseas films that are coming here,’ he said.
‘We’ve been here before. We do know that probably once COVID is gone, they’re gone. So we’ve got to make sure once again that we look after our own stories, our own film industry.’
Dusseldorp said France and Canada were making moves on local content guarantees: ‘We’re not setting the standard, we’re meeting it,’ she said.
Motivations: ‘It seems like one of the reasons they’re doing this is because they’re chucking a lot of money at overseas films that are coming here,’ Bryan said. Pictured with wife Rachel Ward