Silver screen's clouds have silver linings

Sensing a demise in the British film industry, successive UK governments have been particularly generous in terms of tax incentives to native movie-makers

Nearly all governments support their native film industry with some form of tax incentive for investors, but the UK has been particularly generous in recent years. Since the early 1990s the UK has offered accelerated write-off incentives to companies and individuals. This has resulted in the film scheme market developing rapidly, with various types of schemes being introduced and sometimes withdrawn following aggressive Inland Revenue action. The Tax Efficient Review estimates that in the tax year 6 April 2003 to 5 April 2004, investors sheltered income or capital gains amounting to arou...