Written by Tom Deehan on Feb 22, 2018. Posted in Incentive News

Portugal to launch new and improved film incentive in March

In an effort to attract foreign productions, the Portuguese Government will be introducing a new cash rebate incentive with a rate of 25-30%. The programme will replace the previous tax credit incentive which only went as high as 25%.

The Promise, Film, Filming, News, Article, Portugal, Locations, Publishing, Writing, Cash, Rebate, Production, Entertainment, IndustryThe new incentive will also bring a larger annual budget of EUR10 million and will increase to EUR12 million during its second year. A minimum spend of EUR500,000 (previously EUR1 million) will be required to access the rebate which has a per-project cap of EUR4 million.

Portugal’s previous film incentive, which was unveiled just over two years ago, had failed to gain momentum and compete with similar programmes offered in other European countries.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Secretary of State for Tourism, Ana Mendes Godinho explained: “Portugal was not on the map of film production a few years ago. That's what we're trying to change.”

By switching to a cash rebate system, reimbursements will be deployed at a much faster rate than via tax credits. In addition, no minimum shoot days will be required to obtain eligibility. The new incentive will place Portugal in a better position to compete with Spain’s production industry, which recently expanded its own incentive programme.

Despite having a modern infrastructure and being a popular destination for commercial productions, Portugal has struggled to attract more than a handful major international projects. The country recently hosted production on Terry Gilliam’s long-gestating film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which utilised locations in Lisbon and Tomar.

Other recent projects include Terry George’s The Promise (pictured) and the first season of The Grand Tour.

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