The Finnish Audiovisual Incentive Fund

AUDIOVISUAL FINLAND from the Powow Animation Conference Series:

As of 2017 the Finnish Government is legislating to insert an audiovisual incentive fund that will offer a 25% cash rebate to audiovisual productions. This is not a tax incentive but a cash rebate.

The system will be an open application submission process with no deadlines. The idea is for Tekes to administer. In order to qualify there must be a distribution deal in place. The projects will run through a cultural test to prove its worthiness. With this, the rebate excludes: Commercials, Soap Operas and reality shows. In order to qualify an EU Language must be used in the content. There are also minimum expenditures in Finland in order to qualify. For Feature films the minimum is €150K, for Documentaries €50K and for Fiction or Animation Series €250K. The eligible costs will most likely be local services, salaries and goods, however the list is still in the making. There is also a minimum budget for the project, so it would be something like this:

	Minimum Budget	Minimum Expenditure in Finland
Feature Films	€2,5 Million	€150.000
Documentary (Feature Length)	€325.000	€50.000
Fictional / Animation Series	€5500 / Minute	€250.000

To recap:

In order for a project to qualify in the 25% Cash Rebate it needs:

• Distribution Deal in place.
• Must pass a cultural test to insure content is of value.
• Use of a European Union official language.
• Comply with the minimum budget
• Comply with the minimum expenditure in Finland.