TV production of Sally Rooney’s Normal People major beneficiary of tax relief

Element Pictures’ production of Sally Rooney’s Normal People was one of the big winners in movie tax reliefs granted by Revenue last year.

Figures released by the Revenue Commissioners show that Element Pictures Productions Ltd secured Section 481 tax relief for the TV adaptation of the international best seller of between €2 million and €5 million.

The much anticipated 12-part drama based on the Co Mayo native’s second novel is due to be screened on BBC and Hulu later this year.

Beneficiaries

The 2019 Revenue Section 481 figures show that other beneficiaries of the scheme include Brown Bag Films which secured tax credits between €2 million and €5 million for its Vampirina production and between €2 million and €5 million for the company’s latest series of Doc McStuffins.

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The largest tax credit of between €5 million and €10 million last year was made to Four Provinces Films for the recently released The Rhythm Section.

Starring Blake Lively, Jude Law and Sterling K Brown, the spy movie was shot in Dublin last year – production of the movie was halted temporarily after Ms Lively suffered a hand injury on set.

Dublin based company Boulder Media was prolific last year in securing tax credits for various productions.

The figures show that the company secured tax credits of between €2 million and €5 million for its  Rescue Bots and the company obtained the same range of tax credits for its Micronauts production.

The company also secured tax credits of between €1 million and €2 million for the Littlest Pet Shop and between €500,000 to €1 million for Dangermouse.

The production company of international hit Young Offenders, Vico Picture and Sound Ltd, was granted credits between €1 million and €2 million.

Apart from its Normal People production, Ed Guiney’s Element Pictures was also successful in securing tax credits between €500,000 to €1 million for the Oscar winning The Favourite; between €500,000 and €1 million for Herself and the same level of tax credits for Little Stranger.

Galway based company, Telegael Teoranta was also successful in securing tax credits for a number of productions.

Scheme

The company secured tax credits of between €1 million and €2 million for ‘Dee Dee The Apprentice Sorceress’; tax credits of between €500,000 and €1 million for Berry Bees and the same range of tax credits for Yoyo Season 2.

The figures also show that Shinawil Ltd secured tax credits of €1 million and €2 million for Miss Scarlett and The Duke.

Kilkenny based Cartoon Saloon Ltd received tax credits of €1 million to €2 million for its Wolfwalkers series.

A report by the Auditor and Comptroller General found that on the Section 481 tax relief scheme show that 337 projects were granted €273 million of film relief in the period 2015 to 2018, thereby reducing corporation tax receipts by that amount.

Production companies secured tax reliefs of €33 million in 2018 and this followed tax reliefs of €98 million in 2017 and €90 million in 2016.

The figures show that from a sample of 15 projects, 4,282 people were employed that included 2,406 extras.