Villar seeks tax breaks for creative media, entertainment sector

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. pushed for tax incentives anew yesterday for the creative media and the entertainment industries in the country.

Saying the Philippine cinema has the potential to replicate the success of India’s Bollywood, Villar filed proposed Senate Resolution 920 urging the Department of Finance and the Department of Trade and Industry’s Board of Investments to amend the list of business activities eligible for tax incentives by including television, film, theater and digital arts production.

India is currently enjoying global attention with its award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, with some government support through tax incentives.

“Giving tax breaks is also our way to reward the efforts of the men and women of the entertainment industry that gave us international recognition and respect,” Villar said.

“There should be a way to cushion the effects of the financial crisis on the creativity of the Filipino, one of the traits that make us stand out in the world,” he added.

Villar noted that Philippine theater produced world-class thespians Lea Salonga and Joanna Ampil, among others.

Major animation studios in the United States outsource their work to the Philippines, where there is an abundant supply of talented digital artists and animators, he said.

Filipino animators were tapped in various Hollywood animated films as Finding Nemo, Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, The Lion King and many others.

The animation industry in the Philippines started in 1983, and after more than two decades, the industry now employs about 4,500 full-time employees in 40 animation studios in the country, with estimated revenues reaching $54 million in 2006.