Amid increasing controversy over tax subsidies and how they affect the visual effects industry both in the U.S. and abroad, the VFX Soldier [1] blog has announced an official campaign to end international VFX subsidies to U.S. studios, claiming that many of these subsidies violate international trade agreements because they distort the market.
The multi-stage campaign, launched on indiegogo.com [2], has reached over half of its $16,130 goal in just one day.
“The first stage will be a feasibility study conducted by the law firm for a fixed fee of $15,000 ($15,000 + $1,130 PayPal and Indiegogo fee). Once the law firm receives funding, they will conduct a study that will evaluate what options are available to mitigate and/or eliminate subsidies. Once a strategy and objective is proposed, it will be presented to potential donors in the next stage for approval.”
While the battle continues to rage online and off, even Bloomberg [3] has waded into the fray with a breakdown of tax subsidies for The Hobbit, which will have its highly-anticipated U.S. premiere on Friday.
Source: VFX Soldier
Links:
[1] http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/campaign-to-end-vfx-subsidies-begins/
[2] http://www.indiegogo.com/endvfxsubsidies
[3] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-04/kill-the-hobbit-subsidies-to-save-regular-earth.html