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Income derived from distributing film and television rights outside Canada may be eligible for a refund of British Columbia income taxes.

Qualifying Activities under the International Financial Activity Act (IFAA)

• Income derived from selling, assigning or licensing rights to a non-resident to distribute a film or television production outside Canada or exploit anything related to the production outside Canada qualifies as eligible income under the IFAA.

Other reasons to locate in BC

British Columbia is the third largest film and television production centre in Canada. 

• British Columbia remains the preferred location for foreign shooting in Canada, representing 58% of the all foreign productions shot in Canada in 2005/6.

• A significant labour pool experienced in the film, television, new media, and animation industry exists in British Columbia. The industry infrastructure, including studios, crews, and support services, is strong in BC.
• BC's geographic advantages include its proximity to Los Angeles, natural scenery, and the variety of natural and urban shooting locations available in the Province. In addition, a company can take advantage of a favourable west coast time zone with access to Europe in the morning and Asia in the afternoon.

Registering A Business

To be eligible to register under the International Financial Activity (IFA) program, a company’s international financial business must be part of an active business and carried on through an office in British Columbia. Further details on the IFA program can be found in Bulletin IFA 001, International Financial Activity Overview.

The IFA program is administered by the BC Ministry of Small Business and Revenue, Revenue Programs Division, Income Taxation Branch. For more information regarding the legislation or provincial registration, please visit their website.