Even MORE Free Money!

Courtesy of the Province of Nova Scotia.

Tax benefits sweeter for animation than live-action.

Are live-action actors worth less than animated creations? It would appear so, under the new provincial funding regime for digital animation finalized last week.

A media production company such as DHX Media Ltd., worth $1.2 billion on the Toronto Stock Exchange, would receive refundable tax credits worth about 70 per cent of animation labour costs under the funding stream that will take effect July 1.

A bonus of 17.5 per cent for labour costs directly tied to animation will now be stacked on top of the existing digital media tax credit to create an animation tax credit, with a ceiling on eligible salaries.

A scenario provided by the Finance Department shows an animated digital production with a total budget of $1.3 million, including $600,000 in animation costs, would receive a refundable tax credit of $430,000 for the animated component of labour costs. ....

There's just not enough that governments north of the U.S.-Canadian border can do for their struggling, $1.2 billion corporations.

I don't know why the tax payers of Nova Scotia are being so shy and retiring about this. If they really wanted to support cartoons, they'd offer a tax credit that covers 120 percent of labor costs. Because frankly, 70 percent seems pretty damn paltry.