Much excitement in the papers over Industrial Light and Magic’s (ILM) announcement they will “permanently” set up shop in Vancouver, doing visual effects (VFX) for a variety of projects, including Jurassic World and the next set of Star Wars films.
Of course, Pixar (owned by Disney – the same company that owns ILM) just closed up shop in Vancouver, so it’s a wash.
So what’s really going on? Well, B.C. taxpayers subsidize 58.42 per cent of VFX salaries in this province. That’s right, B.C. taxpayers will cut a cheque to Disney for 58.42 per cent of the salaries they pay their VFX artists. This is more cash than the provincial treasury will ever hope to recover, even with multiplying effects and other mythical math the industry makes up to justify it.
The next time you read a story about a school closure or overcrowded hospital room, think about where some of your tax dollars are going – the Walt Disney Corporation – and demand your MLA stop this corporate welfare.
Is Canada Off Track?
Canada has problems. You see them at gas station. You see them at the grocery store. You see them on your taxes.
Is anyone listening to you to find out where you think Canada’s off track and what you think we could do to make things better?
You can tell us what you think by filling out the survey