Financing Film, television and digital multimedia productions in Canada is less of a challenge when you have access to interim capital to assist in completing projects and of course moving on to the next one!
There are a number of excellent new programs at government levels that allow you to monetize tax credits which in many cases now come in the form of a rebate - that rebate can now be monetized to recover a significant portion of expenses related to offerings in various media sectors.
Whether a Canadian business is manufacturing nails or shoes, or created digital content for the entertainment masses cash flow continues to be king. As Canada emerges from the worldwide liquidity debacle of 2008-2009 business seems to be getting better in all areas, and media and entertainment projects are again emerging and flourishing.
Accessing interim capital through strategies such as tax credit financing allows your team to complete projects and access additional capital in the form of equity or gap financing as an example. We are the first to admit that most media and entertainment people quickly realize that in Canada there are certain limitations to chartered bank financing, term loans and subordinated debt for media and entertainment productions.
Recognizing this challenge , while at the same time seeing potential revenue and economic benefit from this industry, the government has stepped up to the table and developed programs to refund a healthy portion of production expenses back to the industry.
And to make matters even better, by working with an experienced , trusted, and credible advisor in this industry you can monetize, or lets call it ' cash flow ' these refunds into working capital and.
So how do you achieve that cash flow? You do that by simply ensuring that the proper costs associated with your production and the intellectual property are documented, certified, and approved under your project. The rebate or tax credit is then financed as a short term discounting or in effect a ' factoring' of the claim. There is only one bottom line, which is you get your funds now and can place them back into the project to both recoup costs and also of course to complete the project.
As various parts of government have committed millions of dollars to these rebate credits why would you not want to accelerate the benefits immediately?! If the government and the industry are breaking new ground in this area of financial assistance you want to be able to take advantage of it - that surely is for certain.
The interesting part of this whole scenario is that the credits now virtually cover all aspects of media, and now also include video-game development and interactive media. There is also a breakthrough in the new legislation which doesn't have the government entities in a position to choose between what projects might work and what projects might not be successful.
Most business people outside the industry often wonder why these rebates our offered, but more and more data is emerging that reflects the fact that the government and economy as a whole benefits ten times over from such investments. Ten times over is great R O I !
Speak to a trusted and credible film tax credit advisor to ensure you are able to access this great funding strategy.