Israel unveils $13M tax rebate for incoming film and TV productions

Israel has unveiled details of its $13m (45m shekels) tax rebate initiative aimed at incoming film and TV productions.

The incentive is underpinned by Israel’s ministries of finance, culture and sports, economy and industry, foreign affairs and tourism.

Bannered the “Fund for the Promotion of Foreign Productions” the incentive will offer a rebate of up 30% to incoming films and TV shows up to a cap of $4.8 (16.6m shekels).

The ministries are also offering a further 10% on top for post-production and animation.

The measure lasts two years with the submission process opening from August 22.

“Israel has joined a prestigious club of countries that provide incentives to international productions to encourage them to come and film on their territory,” said Foreign Affairs Ministry Director General Alon Oshfiz.

“In recent years, Israel’s status as a television and film content power has risen and the Israeli story has generated global interest and curiosity.”

The landmark rebate was first announced last year and voted in on at the eleventh hour at the end of June 29, ahead of the collapse of the coalition government led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. The five ministries involved had to wait for the formation of a new government before officially launching the initiative.

Israeli has been attempting to entice international productions to shoot there for more than a decade with different types of incentive with limited success to date.

Security concerns combined with local bureaucracy have discouraged international productions from tapping into the incentives in recent years.

The country hopes that a new streamlined process and Israel’s recent international reputation for series-making will help change this trend. Deadline