UK Treasury funds Walt Disney to the tune of £16.6m via tax credits
Fresh figures published by HM Revenue & Customs have shown that the UK government contributed £16.6m in tax credits to Walt Disney over the past year, funding a slew of superhero movies such as Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor 2.
All three films were shot in the UK as a result of this largesse and premiere here next month.
Under the film tax credit scheme producers shooting films with budgets in excess of £20m can reclaim up to 20 per cent of the costs.
Over the past 12 months this has seen Captain America recoup a total of £500k whilst Thor 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy recouped £10.8m and £5.3m respectively.
The British Film Institute has defended the scheme as representing good value for money for the taxpayer, as ancillary benefits accrued from increased spending contribute twelve times the £150m annual cost.