The constant implementation of new laws and, especially, new taxes is not a new story in Greece of memorandums. This time, however, the annulment of a tax on August 19th 2015 is seriously threatening the present and future of Greek cinematography. Among the numerous measures the creditors are asking Greece to take, there is the annulment of the Special Tax Law Imposed on the Price of Film Tickets for the Development of Film Art and Industry. 

According to that Tax Law, a small part of the ticket value goes to the producers and the movie theaters owners, while the biggest part goes directly to the Greek Film Center, which invests on supporting new productions and so on. The excuse for abolishing the Special Tax Law was that it was a Third Party Tax, meaning that the state was not benefited by it. Nevertheless, this is far from truth as the income going to the Greek Film Center is entirely used for the production of new films addressed to the Greek audience. 

The annulment powered a range of reactions and protests in the audiovisual and film related associations, which from day one pointed out the danger of such a decision for the Greek film industry. Such a reaction, was the open letter sent by FERA (Federation of European Film Directors) to the Greek President, Prime Minister and Minister of Culture, expressing  the organisation΄s full support to the Greek Directors Guild’s demand of the re-instatement of the Special Tax Law. Read here the full letter as posted by Camera Stylo Online

In the frame of the urgency to re-instate the Special Tax Law Imposed on the Price of Film Tickets for the Development of Film Art and Industry, the Greek Directors Guild organized on Wednesday, October 14th, a working meeting stating the emergency of taking coordinated actions in order to save Greek film productions. Next Thursday, October 22th, the Greek Film Directors and Producers Guild, along with the Greek Documentary Association and the Association of Greek Independent Audiovisual Producers are giving a Press Conference under the title “Who is killing (slowly and tormenting) the Greek cinema?”. 

It is certain that many more actions will take place in the next period trying to reassure the re-instatement of the Special Tax Law imposed on the price of film tickets for the development of film art and industry.

Below you can read the English free translation of the Press Release published by the Greek Directors Guild, concerning last Wednesday’s working meeting. 

Establishment of a National Committee of Institutions and Personalities for the Re-instatement of the Special Tax Law Imposed on the Price of Film Tickets for the Development of Film Art and Industry.

Letter of Support by the People of the Audiovisual and Cultural Domain to the Demand of the Re-installment.

On Wednesday, October 14th, there was a meeting of the bodies and people of the Audiovisual Domain, which took place at the National Technical University of Athens, concerning the conformation of a common proposal for the re-instatement of the Special Tax Law imposed on the price of film tickets for the development of film art and industry.

During this meeting:

1) The attendees decided upon the formation of a National Committee, consisted of personalities and representatives of cultural institutions, which will claim the re-instatement of the Special Tax Law by organizing meetings with the President of Democracy and the political leadership.

2) The attendees decided upon a joint signature to the letter of support to the demand of the re-installment demand of the re-installment of the Special Tax Law that was sent by the Federation of European Film Directors to our country’s political leadership.

3) It was emphasized that the cinematographers should insist on the re-instatement of the Special Tax Law, as it is, because the Tax Law was supporting the Greek Cinematography and thus it was wrongly annulled.

4a) There was a mention of the current situation of the Special Tax Law imposed on the price of film tickets for the development of film art and industry in other European countries, such as France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Luxemburg, Ireland, Czech Republic and Cyprus, which do impose the Special Tax Law on the price of film tickets for the development of film art and industry.

4b) In France, for instance, the Special Tax Law imposed on the price of film tickets, that is 10,72%, is collected since January 1st 2007, directly from the French Film Center, along with the weekly operating income control service. Since that date, the French Film Center substitutes the country’s Income Tax Department regarding the collection, the filling of the forms and their control. The number of film tickets sold in France in 2014 reached 209 million tickets, while 91 out of them concerned national productions!!!

5) Based on data given by the Ministry of Finance and on the research conducted by the Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research, it is estimated that, in 2013, the activity of the audiovisual sector in Greece contributed up to 686.000.000 Eur. to the country’s GDP. In terms of state income, this contribution is estimated to be around 159.000.000 Eur.

6) The Greek Cinematographers request to reduce the film tickets VAT, which is currently 23%, to the percentage that applies for music and theatre venues.

The meeting was coordinated by the director Tony Lykouressis.

Persons who were present and expressed their concerns regarding the re-installment of the Special Tax Law, among others, were: the Director of the Directorate for Applying Cultural Policy of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, Tina Pischitzi, the member of the Administrative Board of the Greek Film Center, Yannis Daskalothanassis, the artistic director of Drama Short Film Festival, Antonis Papadopoulos, the representative of the Scriptwriters’ Guild in Greece and member of SYRIZA’s central committee Anna Hatzisofia, the representatives of FERA Kostas Ferris and Kleoni Flessa, the representative of the Greek Actors Union Iro Mane, on behalf of the Administrative Board of the Union of Film, Television and Audiovisual Technicians the General Secretary Christos Papadopoulos and the PR and culture manager Simos Sarketzis, on behalf of the Panhellenic Audiovisual Union the General Secretary Kostas Kechagioglou and the Second Vice President Odysseas Pavlopoulos, the representatives of MIKRO Theodosia Grammatikou and Sifis Stamou, the President of the Greek Directors Guild Haris Papadopoulos, the former President of Scriptwriters’ Guild and scriptwriter Katerina Marinaki, the producer Phoebe Angelopoulou, the producer Gregory Athanasiou, the producer Nikos Sekeris, the producer Christos Volanis, the producer Tilemachos Sarlis, the directors Tassos Psaras, Stamatis Tsarouchas, Takis Papayannidis, Vassilis Kessisoglou, Lena Voudouri, Vouvoula Skoura, Leonidas Vardaros, Vassilis Konstantoulas, Nikos Fousekis, Kostas Vakkas, Giorgos Panteleakis, Kostas Machairas, Nikos Logothetis, Kostas Stragalinos, Nikos Zappas, the Vice President of “ATHINA” Organization Fotini Kotrotsi and many other cinematographers.