Aussie filmmakers hail new movie tax law

Australian filmmakers were today (Wednesday) applauding a government announcement of new tax incentives to attract foreign productions. Richard Harris, executive director of the Australian Screen Directors Association, said that he hoped it would “deal with the crisis in production” that resulted when the government Tax Office overturned tax concessions granted to investors in Red Planet and Moulin Rouge. Trisha Rothkrans, the CEO of AusFilm, the Australian Film and TV Commission, told the Sydney Morning Herald that the new incentives would make the country more competitive internationally. “We were dead in the water without some incentives,” she said in an interview. “There was no way we’d ever get another $100-million (US$52 million) feature here. And they’re the ones we want: the most expenditure and the least impact on our locations.”