UK Rejects Streaming Levy and Tax-Credit Uplift in Film-TV Review

The UK Government has rejected a series of recommendations from Parliament’s Culture, Media & Sport Committee intended to bolster the domestic film and high-end television sector. In a formal response published 3 July, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy ruled out a 5% levy on subscription video-on-demand revenues, an uplift to the circa-25% High-End TV Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit for shows costing £1 million–£3 million an hour, and a 25% tax rebate on marketing costs for independent films. Ministers also declined proposals to benchmark the UK’s screen tax incentives twice yearly against rival jurisdictions, to require productions to disclose regional spending, and to re-join the EU’s Creative Europe funding scheme. The Government argued that further obligations would add complexity, deter inward investment and undermine the "mixed ecology" it says underpins a sector that generated £5.6 billion in production spend last year, £4.8 billion of which came from inward investment and co-productions. The decision leaves in place existing support measures, including the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit introduced in April and the previously announced £75 million Screen Growth Package. While the response commits to continued dialogue with streamers, public service broadcasters and independents, it offers no timetable for revisiting tax relief levels, saying any changes will be considered "at fiscal events" alongside wider public-finance pressures.