Thailand proposes filming tax incentive

Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry is to propose an incentive programme to lure foreign filmmakers to the country. 

By Nia Daniels 8 Jun 2016

Thailand proposes filming tax incentive
Thailand mountains

Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry is to propose an incentive programme to lure foreign filmmakers to the country.

According to the Bangkok Post, the proposed incentive will be formally put forward to the cabinet later this month by the Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul.

The amount sought is 150m baht which would provide a 20% rebate for foreign movie studios heading to shoot in the country; discussions are currently underway with the Finance and Culture Ministries.

The minister said of the proposal: “If the rebate is not introduced quickly, the movie production teams from Australia, China, Europe and the US, which plan their shoots early next year, will turn to other countries.”
She also suggested that production teams should film in the north east of the country during the region’s many major celebrations such as the Ghost Festival, to portray local traditions and culture on the big screen, quoting the Day of the Dead sequence in Spectre as an example.

Thailand does not currently have a nationwide tax incentive – it offers an income tax exemption for inward productions (and actors), and a Double Taxation Treaty, which should ensure that foreign filmmakers do not get taxed both in their own countries and Thailand. There is also a waiver of filming fees in certain areas managed by state offices, such as the Department of National Parks and the Royal Forest Department.

Major productions to have filmed in Thailand include All I See Is You, a thriller which director Marc Forster shot last year, and Gold, which was filming in the country throughout last summer.

For more on filming in Thailand, head over to our Production Guide.

The amount sought is 150m baht which would provide a 20% rebate for foreign movie studios heading to shoot in the country; discussions are currently underway with the Finance and Culture Ministries.

The minister said of the proposal: “If the rebate is not introduced quickly, the movie production teams from Australia, China, Europe and the US, which plan their shoots early next year, will turn to other countries.”
She also suggested that production teams should film in the north east of the country during the region’s many major celebrations such as the Ghost Festival, to portray local traditions and culture on the big screen, quoting the Day of the Dead sequence in Spectre as an example.

Thailand does not currently have a nationwide tax incentive – it offers an income tax exemption for inward productions (and actors), and a Double Taxation Treaty, which should ensure that foreign filmmakers do not get taxed both in their own countries and Thailand. There is also a waiver of filming fees in certain areas managed by state offices, such as the Department of National Parks and the Royal Forest Department.

Major productions to have filmed in Thailand include All I See Is You, a thriller which director Marc Forster shot last year, and Gold, which was filming in the country throughout last summer.

For more on filming in Thailand, head over to our Production Guide.

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