A US science fiction series to be filmed in Scotland will be the first production to make use of new UK tax breaks for high-end television which came into effect on 1 April 2013.
The TV show, called Outlander, will tell the story of a time travelling couple who slip between 18th and 20th century Scotland and is based a best-selling series of seven books by Diana Gabaldon. It is being made by Starz, a major cable network in the US, and the global television studio Sony Pictures Television.
The production company will build a new television studio and production base near Glasgow, leaving a studio legacy in the area when filming of Outlander ends. It is estimated that the series will employ around 200 local crew, and an estimated 2,400 supporting artist roles cast from within the UK and Scotland. Scottish actor Sam Heughan, who starred in the TV series Doctors will take the lead role.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said: 'This is an exciting development for television in Scotland and shows the clear benefit of the UK's high end TV tax credits. We want Britain to be the best place in the world to make films and TV.'
The government announced in 2012 that film tax reliefs would be extended to high-end television industries and some animation. Plans to include similar reliefs for video games production are currently on hold as they are waiting for EC State Aid approval.
The high-end television tax relief allows eligible companies to claim an additional deduction in computing their taxable profits, and where that additional deduction results in a loss, to surrender those losses for a payable tax credit.
Both the additional deduction and the payable credit are calculated on the basis of UK core expenditure up to a maximum of 80% of the total core expenditure by the qualifying company. The additional deduction is 100% of qualifying core expenditure and the payable tax credit is 25% of losses surrendered.
To be eligible for the relief, at least 25% of core expenditure on the production must be UK expenditure, and films must also be certified as 'culturally British' by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
