04-10-2019

Cash Rebates for Foreign Productions in Croatia Hit Record High

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    ZAGREB: The year 2019 is proving to be exceptional for service productions in Croatia. The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Finances reserved some 4 m EUR for cash rebates, but in the first nine months of 2019 alone, rebates for foreign productions have exceeded 10 m EUR, hitting an all-time record since the system was introduced in 2012.

    So far, nine foreign projects have spent 43.5 m EUR in Croatia in 2019. The previous record year was 2017, when ten foreign productions spent a total of 24.1 m EUR in Croatia and got 4.4 m EUR in tax rebates.

    “Big foreign productions are now filming in Croatia, but tax rebates are not reserved exclusively for them. A great example is Murina by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, a Croatian coproduction with the USA and Brazil, which is using both our production support and cash rebates,” said Chris Marcich, head of the Croatian audiovisual Centre.

    The caash rebate in Croatia was raised to 25% in July 2018, with an additional 5% for productions filming in regions with below average development. It is available for international and local filmmakers who apply through the Filming in Croatia programme, in the form of a rebate on qualifying Croatian spend.

    Since 2012, 67 foreign projects have spent a total of 134.4 m EUR in Croatia and got 27.3 m EUR in cash rebates.