Will the NZ Government's investment in The Hobbit be worth it?

30/11/2012 1:52:33 a.m.

Steve wrote:

What a big joke, the poor kiwi actors got paid peanuts, those overseas actors got paid millions and they will get a cut of DVD sales, yes they bent the employment rules. I had a friend who worked on the movie and found out how much most of those overseas actors were paid, he said he felt ill. Look what happened with lord of the rings they made a hole heap of money

28/11/2012 11:56:25 a.m.

Mike wrote:

Production costs in NZ around $460 mil and almost all of that has been paid in wages subject to PAYE which has seen the govt collect over $100 mil.

ie they have already got more back from it than they are putting in.

The 15% rebate was already on the table from before National arriving in govt in 2008. That rebate gives someone like warners an incentive to earn large, and leave that money in NZ as capital investment for thier next series of movies, as taking it back to the US would see it taxed @ 35%. If they earn up large, NZ still will benefit more. The more sucessful and the more warners earns from the Hobbit, and the more NZ will collect in tax and the more likely warner will have future movies made here.

NZ also getting like $10 mil US as part of the promotion campaign to help promote NZ in the deal which will be good international exposure.

Tourism directly related to the movie? Its small. But Lord of the Rings lead to the Hobbit, which was big. We are on part one and already $460 mil spent and much PAYE tax collected, all built on the success of Lord of the Rings.

That we have the Hobbit being made here already shows success and huge growth in that part of our economy. Thats already $460 mil spent in NZ and tax collected we wouldn't have seen if the NZ actors guild fronting for overseas interest had stopped it as they planned.

28/11/2012 11:37:46 a.m.

Fisho wrote:

All this for the Hobbit while the Government neglect and marginalize the traditional high yield niche tourism industry. The Government is the biggest beneficiary of tourism via bureaucratic charges and taxes but seemingly want to maximise that take to the detriment of the industry. They're sucking the Golden Goose dry. Similar government intervention as that for the Hobbit is required to sustain tourism into the future.