National Film Fund: Luring foreign film productions proving valuable to Hungary

Budapest, February 7 (MTI) – The film industry is the only sector among those that qualify for corporate tax reliefs in Hungary that generates a profit even in the short term, Andrew Vajna, the government’s film industry commissioner, said at a panel discussion for the Hungarian National Film Fund on Tuesday.

All films produced in Hungary generate a 31 percent tax revenue for a 25 percent tax relief, Vajna said.

A study compiled by tax consulting firm OrienTax and consulting firm Candole Partners found that over the past 16 years, film industry revenues in Hungary have grown 20-fold. While the industry only took in 3 billion forints (EUR 9.7m) in 2004, early estimates indicate that revenues for 2017 could exceed 100 billion forints, the study found.

Detailing the study, OrienTax expert Károly Radnai said that out of central and eastern European countries with similar wage levels and Ireland, Hungary had proven to be the most competitive when it came to foreign film producers choosing filming locations.

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Vajna added that the presence of Hollywood stars in Hungary gave an invaluable boost to the country’s image.

Over the past few years, Hollywood A-listers like Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling all shot films in Hungary.

Source: MTI