AMERICAN FILM SCANDAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 10 March 1925, Page 9

AMERICAN FILM SCANDAL.

PRODUCERS WHO AVOID BRITISH | TAXATION. £5,000,000 PROFITS SIR, OSWALD STOLL’S CHARGES. Sir Oswald Stoll, speaking at the annual meeting of, shareholders of die--Stoll Picture Theatre (Kingsway), Ltd., raised a question of paramount importance to the dying British filmproducing industry—an industry undersold at every point by *tlie product's of American film canneries, which, having already made handsome profits in their own country, can he used strategically to push British . films out of their home market. DUTY FREE. Americans films not only come into : this country duty free, but it is "now alleged by Sir Oswald Stoll that the producers have means of - avoiding 11 payment of tax on the enormous profits i earned here. Sir Oswald Stoll first explained how American film-producers, having un- : limited money at their command, had created by means of lavish “exploitation” a. system of false /values, which I induced cinema theatre owners here l to pay excessive prices for American films. ’ j It was a reflection on the Inland Revenue authorities, contended Sir :

Oswald, that they should unwittingly 1 do their share, in making it possible lor American film companies to ex- 1 elude British films from our cinema theatres. The Stol| Picture Theatre, he said, paid in rates and taxes no less than 1 £32,(K)0, hut what amount was paid to the Inland Revenue by the. American film companies who draw heavy profits from our theatres? . PROFITS TRICK. The reason why their taxable profits did not come under the notice of the Inland Revenue, suggested Sir Os- ] wald, was because foreign film-owners | invoiced the films to their representa- | tives here at prices which prevented ja profit being shown. This, nubile all British companies were heavily taxed and rated, foreign companies, who. succeeded in escaping [a substantial part of these obligations obtained fighting funds with which to oppose British companies. The charge made by Sir Oswald "Stoll lias lojig been one of the notorious scandals of the film trade. No one knows how much money America takes from this country in re. speot of film hire, hut it is probably between £ - b,oOf),f)f!O and £8,000,000 annually. It is commonly assumed that practically the whole of this amount escapes taxation.