Movie firm gets €25.5m in tax credits from Revenue in 2018

A Co Wicklow-based movie and TV production group has received corporation tax credits of €63m from the Revenue Commissioners in the past two years.

New accounts filed by Metropolitan Films International and subsidiaries show the group received almost €25.5m last year, and €37.5m in Section 481 film tax credits in 2017.

Its tax credits in 2018 were accounted for the production of the sixth series of Vikings and the third series of Into the Badlands. Its other productions that received tax credits since 2016 include Penny Dreadful and The Widow.

The accounts show that revenues increased last year by 36% to €122.6m, with the tax credits of €25.47m helping it post an after-tax profit of €48,131.

The business is led by Ronan Flynn and James Flynn of Octagon Films, which produced Love/Hate and The Borgias. Morgan O’Sullivan also sits on the board with the Flynns.

Staff costs last year totalled €39.79m, with the average number of employed by the group for the year at 1,287, up from 786 people in 2017. The employees were directly hired by the production company’s subsidiaries.

The €25.4m tax credits accounted for a sizeable portion of all the movie and TV production tax credits paid out by Revenue last year.