Sirima Eamtako,
TTG Asia
Thailand plans to introduce a host of tax incentives and
stimulus measures to entice more foreign productions to be filmed in the
kingdom.
Wanasiri Morakul, director of the Department of Tourism’s
Thailand Film Office, said the cabinet had approved a 100 per cent VAT
refund in cash as well as a tax credit of 20 to 25 per cent for production
companies. Foreign actors would also be exempted from income tax.
The Excise Department has been tasked to come up with
rules and regulations this month.
The Thailand Film Office has also lobbied for foreign
production crews to be granted investor work permits, which exempt them from
income tax, and has secured for them a special fast-track on-arrival, 15-day
non-immigrant visa at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Wanasiri said receipts from foreign productions were
expected to reach 2.1 billion baht (US$68.5 million) this year, up from 900
million baht in 2009. From January to August, Thailand earned 1.42 billion
baht in revenue, a 150 per cent growth over the same period last year, from
a total of 377 productions.
The Department of Tourism was rebranded earlier this
month from the former Office of Tourism Development. Its responsibilities,
however, remain largely unchanged.
The
next event for Pattaya’s very own amateur dramatic society, the Pattaya
Players, is their 3rd Annual Halloween bash to be held on Saturday, October
30, 2010 at Horseshoe Point. For this event, they will need many volunteers
to help them run games and man the tables. In addition, they will need
actors to portray the ghosts in their all-new “Haunted Experience” which
takes the place of their past, popular “Haunted Ghost Tour.”
If you are interested in helping out or being cast,
please e-mail the Pattaya Players ASAP at pattayaplayers@ gmail.com. This is
the biggest event of the year for the Players and they are expecting over
700 participants! It is this event that allows the acting troupe to produce
their quality theatrical shows each year, as well as allowing them to
support many charitable endeavors.
For more information about the Pattaya Players visit
their website at www.pattayaplayers.org.
