Law change to keep Hobbit in NZ
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The production of The Hobbit will remain in New Zealand after an agreement was reached between the NZ Government and Warner Bros. The Government agreed to up to $34 million in tax breaks and an urgent change to employment laws.
The Government introduced The Employment Relations (Film Production Work) Amendment Bill into Parliament on Thursday afternoon under urgency to ‘clarify the distinction between independent contractors and employees as it relates to the film production industry.’
The Government agreed to offset US$10 million ($13.4 million) of Warner Bros marketing costs and an additional tax rebate for The Hobbit movies of up to US$7.5 million ($10 million) per picture, subject to the success of those movies.
The deal came after two days of negotiations between the Government and Warner Bros.
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