Every euro invested in tax incentives for international filming generated a return of nine euros in the Spanish economy, according to the first study on the economic impact of international filming in Spain presented on Sunday at the San Sebastian Festival by the Spanish Film Commission in collaboration with Profilm and prepared by the Olsberg consultancy.
According to the report, which covers the period 2019 to 2022, the subsidised international audiovisual productions – 165 in number – created more than 7,000 jobs per year and generated a gross added value of 1.8 billion euros in the Spanish economy.
Therefore, the speakers said the study shows that productions benefiting from the tax incentive program launched in 2015 had a “very significant impact” on the economy.
In this sense, they expressed “the importance of maintaining and strengthening this type of policies.”
Detailing the published data, they specified that the 1.8 billion euros generated were distributed throughout the national geography, while the expenditure is not only concentrated in the audiovisual industry, but extends to the entire economic fabric.
For their part, they stressed that these productions generated or supported on average more than 7,000 full-time equivalent jobs each year throughout the Spanish economy during the aforementioned three-year period.
Of these jobs, around 1,300 were directly generated by production, while the rest came from indirect and induced impacts; that is, positions created in the supply chain.
On the other hand, the study showed that 70% of the expenditure would not have been made in Spain if the international incentive that attracted foreign production companies had not existed.
As part of the presentation, the president of the Spanish Film Commission, Carlos Rosado, affirmed that these figures support “the strength of our industry as a key economic engine”, and then stressed that the ability to attract large international productions through tax incentives is proving “decisive” in consolidating Spain as a reference destination.
In line with these statements, the secretary general of the organization, Juan Manuel Guimeráns, stressed that the tax incentive policy as well as the Spain Audiovisual Pole Plan “is not only effective, but also multiplies the benefits for the Spanish economy.”
For this reason, he justified the “need to continue and expand” this type of measures to ensure the sustained growth of the sector and contribute to the economic development of the country.
