The film industry and other audiovisual works will be able to benefit from a tax advantage which, as a general rule, will increase from 35 % to 45 %. The tax relief will even go up to 50% for animated films, short films, documentaries, films directed by women, works in Basque and first works. In any case, the maximum amount of aid is maintained at 5 million euros, and the requirement that 40 percent of the investment linked to the project be made in the region.
The new tax proposal raises the deduction percentage for ‘difficult works’ from 40 percent on the first million euros of investment to 50 percent on the first three million euros. As a novelty, short films are included as ‘difficult works’, so that the 50 percent deduction can also be applied to them.
It also establishes a special limit of 85 percent in the intensity of aid for the audiovisual sector for projects costing less than one million euros, instead of the previous 50 percent. This new maximum can be applied to productions such as short films (85 percent), works by new directors (80 percent), Basque-language films (80 percent), films directed by women (75 percent) and co-productions with Latin America (60 percent).
All of these improvements will have retroactive effect, applying to those projects that have been developed since 1 January 2024.
In addition to these improvements, there are other support initiatives such as the Generazinema calls for proposals for different stages of production, which have a budget of almost 1 million euros, and the services offered by the Navarra Film Commission for information, advice and support for audiovisual companies or agencies interested in producing a project in Navarra.
In this context, the Regional Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism, Rebeca Esnaola, affirmed that this reform endorses the Government of Navarre’s commitment to the audiovisual sector, which she described as a ‘priority’. ‘We have ensured its growth and support through public-private collaboration and interdisciplinary work,’ she said.
Esnaola added that this improvement in the incentive represents ‘a legal guarantee for the region to continue its journey as a land of cinema’. In his opinion, moreover, ‘the improvement of the tax incentive allows us to gain in competitiveness and attractiveness, as well as culture, education, innovation and industry’.
In any case, while awaiting the final report on the number of film shoots that have taken place in Navarre in 2024, preliminary data point to an increase in film shoots compared to the previous year and with very good prospects for 2025.
As can be seen in the ‘Strategic Sectors’ section of our Invest in Navarra website, the audiovisual industry in Navarra has experienced significant growth and a notable evolution over the last decade. In this sense, this industry has a series of transversal support in different areas in the region to stimulate investment in infrastructures as well as in the production of audiovisual content. Anyone interested can find out more by clicking on the following link.
Source: navarra.es