Establishment and set-up

• What onshore / offshore structure is best for your project?

• Production company preferences with group entities

• NZ Screen Production Grant criteria and entity choice

• NZ taxes – income tax, withholding taxes, goods & services tax (GST), individual taxes

• Financing arrangements – group, private equity, bank
• The most effective funding structure for your NZ film production project

• Financial reporting implications and options

• Local company assistance – provision of NZ director / shareholder; company incorporation and registrations; bank account set up; company secretarial compliance

• Set-up agreements and documentation advice best suited to your project – production services agreement; cast & crew assignments; security deeds; banking deeds

• Work-made-for-Hire / US and NZ copyright arrangements

 

New Zealand Screen Production Grant

• Advising on NZSPG criteria and requirements for live action productions (including the 5% Uplift, if applicable) and PDV productions

• Opinions on film grant entitlement and likely (budgeted costs) quantum of grant

• All registrations/waiver applications, preparation, project-managing processes

• Grant application completion (including 5% Uplift Initial Application, provisional and interim applications, if appropriate) and project-management, including liaising with your grant auditor and the NZ Film Commission’s consultants, to approval and receipt

 

Financial accounting

• Financial accounting obligations

• Processing and payment of payroll and supplier invoices

• Post-production accounting

• Financial statements preparation

• Work with auditors (if applicable) to completion

 

New Zealand and international taxation planning and obligations

• Summary NZ tax outline for production companies and other entities

• Local taxes – income tax & GST & withholding taxes
• Local company or other entity balance date approvals
• Determining your NZ production profit margin
• Repatriation and unwind upon completion
• Understanding multi-year tax accounting impacts

• International tax issues and tax treaty relief

• All local taxation compliance matters, tax payments, tax returns and filings

• GST return preparation & reconciliation, filings and optimal cash flows

• All liaison with NZ Inland Revenue managing payments, filings, assessments, tax accounts, reconciliations

 

Managing contracts with cast and crew

• Understanding the individual and loan-out NZ tax issues
• Engagement basis as contractors or employees
• Production requirements and impact on cast and crew taxation positions
• Foreign vs local company engagement of production cast and crew
• Assignment arrangements and split contracts
• Engagement of cast and crew that supports your film grant entitlement