(MENAFN- Morocco World News) The Moroccan Parliament has approved a new incentive that has the potential to double the filming of foreign films in Morocco as of 2016.
The 2016 Finance Law which will enter into effect on March 31 2016 includes a 20 percent tax cash rebate for foreign films according to a report by Variety magazine. A foreign film will be eligible to receive the 20 percent cashback if its expenditures are at least MAD 10 million (US $1 million) and provides at least 18 days of work. The 18 days of work may be composed of principal photography and set-building. The number of days spent in the shoot may be combined with the number of days spent building the set as long as there is a minimum of 18 combined days. Sarim Fassi Fihri President of the Moroccan Cinema Center (CCM) had proposed the cashback incentive in 2014. Fassi Fihri said that he was 'delighted' that the parliament had finally accepted his proposal the same source noted. The new cashback mechanism will allegedly work in favor of bringing back film shoots to Morocco. Since South Africa France and Belgium had adopted cashback incentives a large number of foreign films had chosen those countries instead of Morocco. Therefore according to CCM the most competitive way for Morocco to maintain its great filming record was to adopt an attractive cashback mechanism. Morocco has been a favorite foreign location of filmmakers for years due to the diversity of its landscapes and the beauty of its locations. One of the most recent and famous foreign film shot in Morocco was 'Mission: ImpossibleRogue Nation' which used Casablanca as its background. In 2015 21 feature films and 16 television series have declared their interest and chosen Morocco as their location to shoot their productions. Recent American shoots included: comedy 'Arms and the Dudes' comedy 'Army of One' Iraq War drama 'The Yellow Bird' and drama 'The Fixer' the magazine noted. The cashback mechanism proposal had been overturned by the Moroccan Parliament in early December because it included both foreign and domestic shoots. The amended approved proposal will only include foreign productions. Fassi Fihri predicted that this 20 percent cash rebate incentive could triple the total annual spending of foreign productions thus benefiting the industry's infrastructure and foreign investments in Morocco.
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