Archive for the ‘Finance’ Category
Afford the Vehicle You Want With Car Finance
Article by Graham Filmer
If you cannot afford to buy a good quality, reliable car then you could end up spending more money in the long run on repair bills and servicing. It will be much more cost effective and less hviagrasle for you to spend a bit more money and get a solid car that will not need a lot of work. Car finance can provide you with a way to afford a good quality car. You may also have always wanted a luxury car with leather seats, air conditioning and all the extras but have never been able to afford it before. Car finance can also provide you with the chance to buy the car you have always wanted.Car Finance OptionsThere are a number of options available for car finance. It is a good idea to spend some time doing research on financing options to get the best deal you can. With the recent credit crunch personal loans from banks have soared in interest costs, but some dealers are still offering some competitive financing options. The Internet is also a good source for car financing options and because there are less administration costs for processing finance products online you can get some good deals over the Internet. This is also a very easy way to sort your finances out as you can go online 24/7 to apply for a car finance deal.Choosing the Right DealBefore you choose a car finance deal you will need to work out exactly how much money you need and can afford to pay back. Review your outgoings and judge how much you can allow to paying off any financing deals. This will help you to work out how much money you can afford to borrow towards your new car. Now you have an approximate figure in place look around for a few suitable cars in your price range. Don’t go out and look at cars until you know exactly what you can afford. This could lead to an impulsive purchase if you see the car of your dreams and you could end up taking out a finance deal that you could struggle to repay.You will pay less interest on a short term finance deal but the monthly repayments will be higher. If your income is already stretched a long term finance deal could be a more suitable option, as although you will pay more overall the monthly repayments will be lower.Dealer FinanceSome car manufacturers offer competitive finance deals on new cars to boost sales. This can be a good option if you want a new car as these deals often come with additional extras such as two to three year warranties and low annual percentage rates (APR).
About the Author
You can finance a car in a number of different ways. This can help you to afford a solid, reliable car or invest in the new car you have always wanted.
SR&ED Tax Credit Financing – 2 Things You Must Know
Article by Stan Prokop
Many of our clients can be easily forgiven for being confused and mis-informed on Canadas SR&ED program, aka ‘ SRED ‘, as most people call it. They can be even more forgiven for not know the basics about SRED finance. We try and simplify that discussion into two very basic things you need to know :- If you have a sred claim its financeable for cash and working capital now- To finance a claim you need to have filed a claim, but not always!! Your ability to monetize or cash flow a claim is in fact a superior way of generating additional working capital and cash flow now based on the value of your filing. We will add one technical point here, in that claims are generally financed at 70% LTV. LTV means ‘ loan to value ‘, so we are simply saying that for every one hundred thousand dollars of sred claim filing you can generate seventy thousand dollars via a short term sred loan. We can expand on that point a bit to ensure you are well informed. After filing a claim it is clear you are in a ‘waiting mode ‘ for your claim to be analyzed, potentially audited, and then of course waiting for the proverbial government cheque – we are of course all familiar with the expression ‘ it’s in the mail ‘ – With Ottawa backing your non repayable cheque you of course have the assurance funds will come, but you just don’t know when!We recommend that if you have filed a claim that you investigate the ability to finance that claim now. If the cheque under the program is a non payable grant ( other than paying tax on the income that’s as close to free money as we can get in Canada from the government!) Why wouldn’t you consider a financing option to accelerate cash flow and start using those funds now?Uses of funds under SR&ED financing are totally within your control. We see clients utilize sred financing to further invest in even more R&D, i.e. next years claim! or you can choose to reduce payables, invest in additional equipment or business assets, etc.In a small handful of cases we meet with firms who have a tax liability to Ottawa or the province re source deductions, GST/PST back remittances, etc. If you work with a trusted, credible, and experienced sred financing Sr&Ed consultant you can structure your financing to ensure that you’re past due remittances are taken care of during the sred financing process. No firm wants to be in the governments bad books re past due government super priority issues.The actual SR&ED financing process should be treated by yourself as any other business financing – we try and actually make the case its easier in some cases, because the actual asset behind the sred loan is the sred claim itself, so even if you think your firm might not qualify for financing for other forms of traditional borrowing your probably qualify for the sred – why?? Because you have a sred claim as an asset that’s verifiable! Ensure you are aware of this great program within Canada that generates billions of dollars in working capital and cash for Canadian corporations.Yes you can wait for funds, which may take a couple months or the better part of a year – if you cant wait consider financing your Sr&Ed claim via a short term sred loan which is collateralized against your filing. We strongly recommend you have a professional filing prepared, by your accountant or sred consultant (there are many) – this will significantly positively impact your ability to finance your claim.It’s a great cash flow and working capital strategy, and no debt is on your balance sheet, as it is offset by your sred asset that is in fact a monetizable account receivable.
About the Author
Stan Prokop – founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial – http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.comOriginating business financing for Canadian companies, specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing. In business 6 years – has completed in excess of 45 Million $ $ of financing for Canadian corporations.Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details:http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/sred_tax_credit_financing_2_things_you_must_know.html
Farm Loans and Agricultural Finance
Article by Paul Godfrey
Increasing complexness and order of magnitude of farming and Financial agriculture have lead to the innovation of agriculture machinery which speeds up the process of agriculture while cutting down the dependency on labor as well. Knowing the complex functions which agricultur emachinery perform, they are undoubtedly expensive and for purchasing them would lead to requisite of farm machinery Finance.
Farm Finance is available on special farm machinery such as Tractors, power tiller, ploughing equipment, planting equipments, combine reapers, irrigation systems. Nonetheless there are certain prerequisites to availing farm machinery Finance UK.
Farm loans are offered calculating up the farmer’s necessities. In UK, farm machinery Finances are offered in the range of GBP 10000 to GBP 150000. Farming itself is an irregular activity which makes it imperative to extend highly flexible Finances. Farm machinery Finances can be availed to buy new farm machinery or second hand farm machinery.
You could avail farm loans either through fixed charge per units, variable rates or prime rates. Farm finance options taken under fixed rates means your installment is spread over fixed period of years viz 1 year to 10 years. The Finance repayment sum will be comparatively small since the Finance period is spread over a period of time.
You could also opt for farm machinery loans through varying rates. Through variable rates, the interest rates shift consorting to the diverging rates in the markets on monthly basis as well. The term of repayment options of Finances on variable rates is between 7 to 10 years.
Lastly moving on to Finances offered quality rates imply specific margin to prime rate. In case of any change in the prime rates, the rate of interest also varies. These Finances have a margin lock of 1 to 3 years while they can be repaid within 7 to 10 years maximum.
In case you go up special financial institutions you could also raise capital from your surviving property and expand your agriculture business substantially. In case you have Finances from multiple origins you could always consolidate all your borrowings into a single affordable Finance. These financial institutions also offer repayment vacations which mean you do not have to pay for the initial years (usually 5 years) after which you do have to pay a more or less higher amounts of money of instalments considering the accrued interest.
All in all, Farm finance is easily usable. You need to finalize the farm machinery you wish to fit out your farm with and go up the financial institutions with your Finance form. At the same time you could even think of ambitious farm elaboration plans and increase your agricultural concern as well.
find out more information about farm finance
and more help with agricultural loans as well as many other articles to help improve your busines
About the Author
I have been trying to help farmers and smallholders get off the ground and also show how it is possible to obtail special loans for farm improvements
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Film Finances Canada – Monetizing Your Film Tax Credits in Canada Today Via our Secret Strategy!
Article by Stan Prokop
The reality of film finances in Canada has changed dramatically over the last couple years. Unlike many aspects of business financing though, they have improved, and tax credit financing is a large part of that improvement.Our information is particularly beneficial to independent owners and producers – it naturally goes without saying that the larger studios and film finance conglomerates historically review your production in any of our three entertainment segments, ( film / tv, digital animation ), they buy into your concept or production, and then they fund it via their own often substantial resources.Naturally if your production can get on board that above boat that is truly a perfect world, however the reality is that the majority of production, even larger names one with ‘name actors ‘still struggle to find proper financing. The truth is simply that the financing of a project comes from a variety of solutions that are cobbled together to form a full financing complement for your production. Film finance is no different than the financing of any business venture – it all comes down to two components, debt and equity. Your job is of course to maximize the right mix of those two essential elements of any type of financing.Equity financing is your springboard for your venture naturally, however today’s reality in the Canadian marketplace is that the ‘ soft money ‘or non equity portion of your production in film, tv, or digital animation can in fact come from the various tax credit incentives made possible by combined federal and provincial initiatives in Canada. Want to know a secret? It’s the secret we refer to in our teaser title in this document. Here it is 99% of the entertainment world might believe that tax credits for film financing in Canada can only be monetized when they are filed and certified, using traditional year end accounting guidelines. That is not necessarily the case! You can also, in many circumstances, access film finances via an ‘accrual strategy ‘. In that case we determine your overall sense of eligibility for future credits, and you receive the cash upfront, based on certain per cent ages, allowing you to immediately access the ‘ soft money ‘ that we have previously started to discuss. That’s a solid working capital and cash flow strategy for your production, which at the same time brings valuable cash flow and working capital into your project on an up front basis.The quick example we can utilize in a film type scenario (it could just as easily be TV or animation) is the proverbial 1 Million dollar budget. If you utilize the right tax credits in Canada, which are non repayable of course, then you can immediately access cash flow in the 400,000- 500,000.00 range for your project. Given that you probably have raised some equity already those funds, plus the tax credits have you probably financed to the 90% of the total project at this point. That simply leaves the ‘gap’, which all of a sudden is less of a challenge than you, thought. Canada doesn’t have as robust a banking focus on film TV and animation financing, but there are a number of methods to still fill ‘the gap ‘.Financing for tax credits in Canada is often done on an approximately 60-80% loan to value based on the value of the credit. Each situation is a little different only because of the size of the production and resultant credit, as well as the team you bring to the table Vis a Vis proper accounting and financial documentation of your project.Speak to a credible, trusted and experienced advisor in this area to monetize your film finances in Canada based on your tax credit financing strategy as a key component in overall project success.
About the Author
Stan Prokop – founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial – http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.comOriginating business financing for Canadian companies, specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing. In business 6 years – has completed in excess of 45 Million $ $ of financing for Canadian corporations.Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details: http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/film_finances_canada_film_tax_credits.html
Download Excel workbook people.highline.edu Learn the basics about formulas and functions for the beginning Finance class. See formulas for Period Interest Rate, Net Income. See the functions SUM, AVERAGE, PMT. Learn about formula inputs and cell references and when to use cell references for vaiable data and when it is okay to hard code formula inputs into formulas. Highline Community College Busn 233 Financial Management with Excel taught by Michael Girvin.
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Film Finances Canada – Monetizing Your Film Tax Credits in Canada Today Via our Secret Strategy!
Article by Stan Prokop
The reality of film finances in Canada has changed dramatically over the last couple years. Unlike many aspects of business financing though, they have improved, and tax credit financing is a large part of that improvement.Our information is particularly beneficial to independent owners and producers – it naturally goes without saying that the larger studios and film finance conglomerates historically review your production in any of our three entertainment segments, ( film / tv, digital animation ), they buy into your concept or production, and then they fund it via their own often substantial resources.Naturally if your production can get on board that above boat that is truly a perfect world, however the reality is that the majority of production, even larger names one with ‘name actors ‘still struggle to find proper financing. The truth is simply that the financing of a project comes from a variety of solutions that are cobbled together to form a full financing complement for your production. Film finance is no different than the financing of any business venture – it all comes down to two components, debt and equity. Your job is of course to maximize the right mix of those two essential elements of any type of financing.Equity financing is your springboard for your venture naturally, however today’s reality in the Canadian marketplace is that the ‘ soft money ‘or non equity portion of your production in film, tv, or digital animation can in fact come from the various tax credit incentives made possible by combined federal and provincial initiatives in Canada. Want to know a secret? It’s the secret we refer to in our teaser title in this document. Here it is 99% of the entertainment world might believe that tax credits for film financing in Canada can only be monetized when they are filed and certified, using traditional year end accounting guidelines. That is not necessarily the case! You can also, in many circumstances, access film finances via an ‘accrual strategy ‘. In that case we determine your overall sense of eligibility for future credits, and you receive the cash upfront, based on certain per cent ages, allowing you to immediately access the ‘ soft money ‘ that we have previously started to discuss. That’s a solid working capital and cash flow strategy for your production, which at the same time brings valuable cash flow and working capital into your project on an up front basis.The quick example we can utilize in a film type scenario (it could just as easily be TV or animation) is the proverbial 1 Million dollar budget. If you utilize the right tax credits in Canada, which are non repayable of course, then you can immediately access cash flow in the 400,000- 500,000.00 range for your project. Given that you probably have raised some equity already those funds, plus the tax credits have you probably financed to the 90% of the total project at this point. That simply leaves the ‘gap’, which all of a sudden is less of a challenge than you, thought. Canada doesn’t have as robust a banking focus on film TV and animation financing, but there are a number of methods to still fill ‘the gap ‘.Financing for tax credits in Canada is often done on an approximately 60-80% loan to value based on the value of the credit. Each situation is a little different only because of the size of the production and resultant credit, as well as the team you bring to the table Vis a Vis proper accounting and financial documentation of your project.Speak to a credible, trusted and experienced advisor in this area to monetize your film finances in Canada based on your tax credit financing strategy as a key component in overall project success.
About the Author
Stan Prokop – founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial – http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.comOriginating business financing for Canadian companies, specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing. In business 6 years – has completed in excess of 45 Million $ $ of financing for Canadian corporations.Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details: http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/film_finances_canada_film_tax_credits.html
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The Key To Managing Personal Finance
Article by James Copper
Personal finance is something many people do not take very seriously. That is why so many people are fighting with debt problems. Personal finance is about keeping a balanced debt to income ratio and ensuring that expenses never exceed income. Personal finance is crucial to keeping a good credit record and maintaining credit worthiness.
Personal finance starts with a budget. Every person should have a budget to track and mange their income and expenses. A simple budget lists all income and all expenses for a month. The bottom line of a budget is that the income should never be less then the expenses. Should the expenses exceed the income the person is going to have to cut back on expenses. They should start by cutting out non-essential expenses. This can be difficult, but for someone wanting to be serious about their personal finance, it is important. Budgeting takes a lot of self control and little sacrifice.
The next step in personal finance is managing debt. Most people have some debt. Debt is essential for building credit. However debt should never become overwhelming. A person should make a list of all debt. The list should include the name of the creditor, the amount of credit, the amount of debt and the interest rate. If there is any debt problems they should be handled immediately.
Next is credit. If a person is easily handling their budget and their debt then they can consider getting more lines of credit. However, if a person is not handling their debt and budget then getting more credit is out of the question. A person should also make sure they understand all of their credit obligations. This includes all terms and conditions.
After a person has all of their personal finances in order they need to look them over. They should check to see if they are struggling with anything. If they are then they need to manage their finances to get them back in order. This may involve some credit counseling or debt consolidation. A person should be committed to whatever it takes to get their personal finances back in order, so they do not suffer damaged credit or financial difficulties.
Now that a person has organized their personal finances, they need to manage them. Managing personal finance is about sticking to a monthly budget, keeping debt under control and not getting overwhelmed by credit. Management of personal finances is on going. A person has to review every month to ensure they are not over extending themselves or breaking their budget.
Personal finance is an important topic. It is something everyone needs to think about and something everyone needs to control. Too often people let their personal finances get out of control. It is this that leads to debt problems and eventually financial difficulties.
A person that controls their personal finance will be using their monthly budget, keeping up on debt and not over extending themselves credit wise. A good, well managed personal finance is going to produce someone who can afford their lifestyle and who benefits in the form of a good credit record.
About the Author
James Copper is a writer for http://www.any-loans.co.uk
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Receivable Financing – Factoring is the 4th Way To Finance Your Company
Article by Stan Prokop
Canadian business owners and financial managers often ask about assessing the different alternatives to their overall business financing strategy – Receivable financing – factoring can be one of the cornerstones of a creative alternative financial solution for their business. We sometimes hesitate to use the word ‘alternative ‘because quite frankly this method of financing is becoming as mainstream as things can get!Canadian business can be financed in one of four different ways – You need to be able to asses the methods utilized in those four categories and which one, or ones, makes sense for your firm. Business is financed of course by your own shareholder equity – Equity is expensive because when you give it up, or sell ownership in your business your overall position becomes diluted and your return on investment diminishes.The three other methods of financing, in lieu of equity of ownership relinquishing are:DebtGrantsAsset FinancingDebt of course comes in the form of good debt and bad debt – we would, as an example categorize a commercial mortgage as good debt – a cash flow working capital loan might be another example. However, the reality is that most business owners recognize the dangers of debt and how that increased leverage can be a double edged sword.Clients are always asking us about ‘governments grants and loans ‘. In our opinion there are only two respectable grant/loan programs in Canada – the SR&ED program, and the CSBF program – the former is a non repayable grant, the latter is simply a great government loan for financing equipment and leaseholds.So that brings us to # 4- Asset financing. Depending on the type of business and industry you are in your asses include inventory, land, equipment, and receivables.A very strong case can be made that #4 should in fact be #1 when it comes to working capital and cash flow financing – Simply speaking your assets need to be monetized in the best manner in which to bring you liquidity. Receivable financing – factoring is in fact the quickest and most efficient manner to bring immediate cash flow to your business. Why is that the case – simply because it involves no debt coming on our balance sheet, no payments are made as in a loan type scenario, cash flow is immediate, and the reality is, that if you have negotiated the right factor facility then you are in control of your overall cash flow requirements?The benefits of a receivable financing factor facility are very clear once you understand the process. Generally a factor facility, aka an invoice discounting or receivable financing facility can be negotiated in a couple of weeks from start to finish. To the extent that your business is growing you essentially have successfully completed a financing that gives you unlimited cash flow. We say unlimited, because if your sales and receivables grow your cash flow and working capital grow in lock step to that growth! Cash flow and working capital from a factor facility can be used to increase inventory, take on more purchase orders and contracts, and, in general meet working capital guidelines.The overall process for a receivable financing -factoring facility is simple. You sell some or all of your invoices to your factor partner firm – You receive generally 90% of that invoice amount that same day as cash in your bank account. When your customer pays the factor firm keeps a ‘discount fee ‘based on the total time it took your customer to pay. Discount fees, or as clients prefer to call them, ‘factoring rates ‘vary in Canada. Factors (excuse the pun) that affect your fee are the size of facility, who you deal with, the method in which your facility operates, and the overall quality of your customer base.Speak to a credible, trusted, an experienced business financing advisor – Find out today why the 4th method of financing your business might just be the best!
About the Author
Stan Prokop – founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial – http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.comOriginating business financing for Canadian companies, specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing. In business 6 years – has completed in excess of 45 Million $ $ of financing for Canadian corporations.Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details: http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/receivable_financing_factoring_working_capital.html
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Purchase Order Financing and Factoring
Article by Stan Prokop
Can you relate to the following statement a client once shared with us: ‘Getting working capital financing for my orders and contracts actually is harder than getting the order itself? ‘.Your firm has the order and contract, now you just need to fulfill it to complete the job and get paid of course. It is the working capital and cash flow that come out of those contracts and orders that will of course help you grow sales and profits.So how does purchase order financing and P.O. Factoring work in Canada? And is it actually available?! The answer to those two questions follows.Purchase order financing or factoring provides you with capital for the key elements of your business, i.e. Product purchases, payroll, and working capital to carry receivables. Most clients we meet in the purchase order finance area have what can only be describe as the best and worst of problems – that is to say they have the order, they just don’t have access to the capital to complete the order or project. You also don’t want to strain your relationship with key suppliers, while at the same time you strive to deliver your product or service on an ‘on time ‘basis. Naturally your ability to accept larger orders enhances your overall competitiveness within your industry, and larger orders usually translate (hopefully!) into larger profits.Canadian business owners and financial managers consider purchase order financing and the factoring of their purchase orders, but at the same time they don’t want to take on additional debt, or give up ownership of their business to an investor / partner. So how does this type of financing work in the day to day real world. You have a P.O. and contract from a legitimate credit worthy company – More often than not some of these clients can actually be outside of Canada – we see that all the time. The purchase order finance firm provides you with the minimum amount of capital you need to complete the orders. Many times this simply involves making payments to your supplies on your behalf. Therefore the benefits of this type of Canadian business financing are very clear – your company can complete orders/contracts it might otherwise have been forced not to accept – no business owner hates to turn down business. You can often also leapfrog a competitor of similar size to yours by simply the ability to finance orders the competition might not be able to. You could enter into long term working capital or cash flow loans, but these typically involve payments that are fixed over 3-5 years. Although purchase order financing is generally quite a bit more expensive than bank financing it allows you to do short term financing without taking on additional debt on your balance sheet. In some cases the PO finance or P O Factoring firm could be asked to issue a letter or credit to a supplier on your behalf – that is also a common p.o financing and factoring strategy that achieves similar objectives. Speak to a trusted, credible and experienced business financing advisor who can provide you with information on how PO financing and factoring works, how you access it, and who can also assist you in determining if the cost of the financing meets your business and financial objectives.
About the Author
Stan Prokop – founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial – http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.comOriginating business financing for Canadian companies, specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing. In business 6 years – has completed in excess of 45 Million $ $ of financing for Canadian corporations.Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details:http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/purchase_order_financing_and_factoring.html
What is taught in the finance courses?
Article by ISBF Education
Money and wealth have always been important. The individuals, organizations, communities, kingdoms and the modern nation-states which have not been able to manage and grow their wealth have failed and become weaker. The requirement of managing finances is felt by the families and the businesses, by the profit-making or non-profit organizations, by the private sector and by the government institutions and so on. Considering that there are a number of reasons to learn how to manage the finances, the Finance Courses are offered at graduate and post graduate level by the private and the public institutions.
The specialized study of finance courses covers the study of micro and macro economics, accountancy, personal and corporate finance, investment and merchant banking, financial markets and derivatives, the venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and many other fields. A lot of emphasis is laid on how to read the financial figures and analyze them for taking appropriate managerial actions. Apart from the function knowledge of finance, the regulatory knowledge of finance is also given to the students. This incorporates the laws and rules and regulations pertaining to the different aspects of financial compliance as outlined by the regulatory authorities.
At the end of a Finance Course the student is able to understand, plan and act to resolve the whole conundrum of finance. He or she is able to take effective decisions on how to generate and use money for different purposes, how to streamline the cash and funds flow from different sources and invest the same, so that the organization never faces the cash crunch and is also able to grow as per the desired business goals. Since the field of study is very vast, the students are required to specialize in a few selected fields as per their choice in the final year of the two year postgraduate course.
Now, a number of learning modes are available to the students. Although the class room study is still the favourite of the students, the finance courses are also offered through the distance learning medium and, more recently, through the e-learning tutorial modules. There are respective advantages and disadvantages of each of the medium. The jobs market also differentiates between the importance and relevance of these study mediums. A student passing out from the regular finance course is more likely to find a job than the ones who have studied through the distance learning programs. The employers lay a lot of emphasis on the conceptual clarity, the nature of summer training projects and the industry interaction of the candidate.
For those who are willing to seek finance jobs overseas have the option of pursuing those courses in finance which have global acceptance. These are generally offered by some private institutes that, in turn, have to obtain due approvals from the foreign authorities in charge of administering these programs. There is no doubt that the finance jobs are some of the best paid ones if you do the courses from the reputed institutes.
About the Author
ISBF has been established to impart quality education with international recognition in the area of Economics, CFP, Management and Finance Courses.
Visit us at: Finance Course from ISBF.
While Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may be playing down the controversy over his office being tapped, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh, in exclusive interview to NDTV, says it’s unheard of, and that the government should order enquiry into bugging controversy.
How to Finance a Film,TV, or Animation Project Via a Film Tax Credit Film Financing Strategy
Article by Stan Prokop
We can almost hear the newspaper crier already – ‘Read all about it, read all about it… No changes to Canada’s film tax credit financing!” What we are referring to is a rash of recent articles and TV news stories around the U.S. situation regarding film tax credit financing. Politicians in a number of states are waging a full stage war in some cases to abolish the entire film tax credit system, taking away these valuable subsidies that have become intrinsic in financing many non studio productions.That’s in the U.S. – That is absolutely not the case in Canada. One can argue all day about the merits and benefits the government in Canada ( at the federal and provincial level ) reaps via their non repayable film tax credit grants, which currently are some of the most generous in the world, as well as efficiently administered. We’re not going to get into that argument here – suffice to say that we understand the government to be very satisfied with the revenues they recoup via productions in film, TV and animation being produced in Canada.Canadian producers and investors are still very bullish on film tax credits, and the financing of these tax credits is part of an overalls strategy to get most independent productions financed and completed in the Canadian landscape, covering all ten provinces.We stated previously that tax credits in Canada are both available and generous. Canadians producers and owners use the tax credits as part of an overall strategy to finance their productions. It is certainly very unusual that any single project in either film, tv, or animation would be financed through just one vehicle, i.e. all equity, all debt, all tax credits, all pre-sales, etc.Therefore tax credits, due to their generous nature, are a lynch pin in the overall finance strategy for tax credits film financing. Tax credits were increased over the last couple years, due in part to re invigorate Hollywood North – aka Canada, which was starting to lose productions to Louisiana, New Mexico, Michigan, etc. Tax credits when properly accumulated, filed, and financed (financed at your discretion of course – you could wait for the cheque!) are a combo of federal and provincial in Canada. The key credit on the federal side is the Production Services Film tax credit, which finances up to 16% of your eligible labor. That credit is further augmented at the provincial level on a province by province basis. As an example in Ontario where a large majority of filming and production is done the rebate comes to an additional 25% of the total budget spend. ( Manitoba has one of the most generous programs – Thirty % all-spend tax credit, or offset up to 65% of local labor costs on projects that start location spending/filming in that province!)We can be forgiven for sometimes not mention Digital Animation credits which in some cases go up to 42% or more of the total spend. Only several years ago digital animation was a weak sister to the industry, but is gaining significant traction due to the popularly of animation, 3D, Shriek! Etc. Many major animation productions are done in Canada directly by Canadian firms or offshoots of the well known major animation studios.So the strategy and recommendation we make to clients is quite clear – understand what credit you are eligible for, select where your production creation or filming makes the most sense ( Manitoba has very cold winters!) and finance your credits as a part of your overall cobbling together of a success and profitable venture in film, tv or animation. Is a film tax credit strategy the holy grail of your financing? Probably not, but used as one tool among your equity, debt and pre sales strategy and you have a strong chance of pulling of a successful financing for your Canadian venture.
About the Author
Stan Prokop – founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial – http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.comOriginating business financing for Canadian companies, specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing. In business 6 years – has completed in excess of 45 Million $ $ of financing for Canadian corporations.Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details: http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/tax_credits_film_film_tax_credit.html

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