asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is prepared to consider similar Inland Revenue write-off proposals for the British film industry as exist in other major western film-producing countries; and whether he will make a statement.
[pursuant to his reply, 11 February 1987]: The film industry is taxed on broadly the same lines as other businesses and we do not believe that films should be subject to a different system of taxation, but we have introduced into this system some special measures where they can be justified by the special nature of the film industry. These include alternative systems for writing off expenditure on films. Broadly, this expenditure can be written off either over the income-producing life of the film or against income as it accrues on a pound for pound basis. We have no plans to change this treatment. Alternatively, capital allowances may be available in some circumstances in respect of capital expenditure on a British film.