Liberal filmmaker James Cameron is estimated to be worth $700 million.
Despite this fortune, it was announced Monday that he will be producing the next three installments of his successful "Avatar" movie in New Zealand.
It was also announced Monday that New Zealand is changing its tax incentive structure for films made in the country making Cameron eligible for 25 percent in rebates.
KFTV.com reported Monday:
New Zealand has introduced new screen incentives bringing more financial assistance for mid-budget level national productions and encouraging more international productions to do business in the country. The move instantly paid off when James Cameron announced he will use the country as the production hub for his next three Avatar movies.
As the tax rebate went up from 15% to 20% for international film and television productions, filming in the country - which has an array of amazing locations seen in films such as Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy and Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin - becomes instantly more attractive for filmmakers.
An added 5% will be available for international productions that deliver significant economic benefits to New Zealand. Eligibility will be assessed through a points system, details of which are to be released in the coming weeks.
In an agreement with the New Zealand government, the first one to benefit from this is Cameron. He announced that his three upcoming Avatar films will spend at least NZ $500m (US $412m) in the country in return for a tax rebate of 25%.
Deadline reports that the first "Avatar" generated NZ$307M to the local New Zealand economy.
With a 25 percent rebate on future spending, Cameron's in position to dramatically reduce his costs.
New Zealand's Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce said in a statement Monday:
“In recent months there has been a sharp downturn in international production activity in New Zealand for both film and TV. This is due to a combination of factors, including increasingly generous grant rebates and tax relief offered by other countries.
“To support and develop our screen sector, the Government is altering our screen production incentives to both encourage more mid-sized locally-driven productions and attract more international productions while our own domestic industry develops – without engaging in a ‘race to the bottom’ mentality,” Mr Joyce says.
And liberal filmmaker James Cameron was the first to take advantage of these incentives on the very day they were announced.
Keep that in mind the next time you watch one of his anti-capitalism, pro-global warming theory blockbusters as he attempts to become the wealthiest filmmaker in history.
