film & television tax credits/rebates
Moneypenny has been operating for 25 years and can provide the complete one-stop range of financial services and on-the-ground presence to a production claiming the valuable tax incentives/rebates South Africa has to offer.
Since the introduction of Rebate schemes internationally, Moneypenny has successfully structured and claimed payouts in full for at least 25 feature films (mix of US studio, domestic and international co-productions), TV series and mini-series, with a combined qualifying spend of over US$1 billion.
Most film & television tax incentives/rebates appear on the surface as easy to understand and comply with, but in reality are highly complex and industry specific and require specialist professional advisors in order for a production to successfully maximize its claims. At Moneypenny we pride ourselves in providing the ultimate resource base for producers and financiers to ensure all economic impacts of a project are accounted for and managed to best effect.
Rebate Financial Services
Moneypenny can provide the following services on a project by project basis:
- Quantify the anticipated rebate from the budget provided in EP Budgeting/Movie magic format
- Provide a detailed risk assessment report for the producers and financiers on any tax, employment, production and statutory risks that may impact on the value of the planned incentive(s) and their payout
- Design and implement the tailor-made risk mitigation strategies to ensure the production's incentive claims are maximized
- Liaise with the chosen lawyer(s)/financier(s) in this regard to dovetail the incentive into the remainder of the project's finance plan
- Prepare and lodge the provisional certification application with the DTI if required by financiers
- Ensure the appropriate systems are established during production to monitor the spending in accordance with the original provisional application and provide variation reports accordingly
- Provide experienced production accountants to financially manage the production in conjunction with the chosen production team
- Attend the audit and preparation and delivery of the application to the DTI for certification and pay out
All the South African rebates/grants require an audit on completion of the production. We do not provide audit services as this would represent a conflict however we are able to recommend auditors that we have used on past claims to the satisfaction of all government bodies concerned.
Other Financial Services
Other Moneypenny services that can be provided on an as-needs basis through our CTU/Artist Services division:
- contract consultation and structure with the production and talent representatives in relation to individual cast/crew/executive GST/VAT and Income Tax issues
- preparation and lodgement of any personal/corporate tax returns (usually a direct cost to the talent)
For further information, please contact Jane Corden in the Johannesburg office.