Currently there is a bill in the Canadian senate on tax amendments
In this bill there is an amendment on tax credits given to film and video in Canada.
In Canada there tax breaks for Canadian films (and television) and films by foreign people who film in Canada. It's to promote job creation and help the domestic film industry. Basically Canadian tax dollars are invested in every Canadian film.
Currently, the tax law is that ANY film that is Canadian is eligible for the tax break. Also any foreign investor filming in Canada gets the tax break too.
In the amendment (a 500 page document) there is one line where it basically says in the "opinion" of the heritage minister if the film is considered "contrary to public policy" the heritage minister can deny the tax credit. The phrase “public policy†has not been defined in the new bill. Basically this means if the government doesn't like the movie ideas or content, no tax break for the film. This would apply to current and future governments.
Acquiring funding for Canadian film through investors and grants is very difficult and Canadian film is pretty low budget. The tax credit enables filmmakers to apply for bank loans and get investors to fund the film. If there is fear a film is denied a tax credit (because of this new bill) it will basically mean, no one will invest in the movie and controversial edgy films won't get made.
So basically by allotting power to a one member of the Canadian government to give yea or nay on a tax credit for a movie the heritage minster is basically determining if a film will ever get made.
Many people feel that this is a form of back door censorship. Especially considering , canadian film usually covers dark subject matter and has a lot of sex scenes. Also this could encourage self censorship by the film makers themselves. Foreign films produced in Canada are exempt from this new law.
A part of the reasoning for this new amendment is that some people are worried about Canadian tax payer money going to offensive films. But who is to decide what is offensive? There is a seperate line on pornography so that is already covered. Also nothing illegal would get the tax credit since it violates the criminal code already. Also Canadian tax money goes to subsidize many industries and public institutions and there is no picking and choosing based on morality.
I myself have become concerned about this and actually spoke to my MP and contacted a few senators. I would really like to see what board members think about this.
I'll give my personal opinion and elaborate more on this bill in a future post. Also I don’t want this to turn into a debate on why film in general get tax breaks in the first place