Business Building: Jordan’s Rebate, Locations, Crews Draw Shoots From Around the World

During the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, Jordan’s Royal Film Commission presented its revamped cash rebate program, jumping from 25% to a tiered system that can grant productions a return of up to 45% of local spend, plus an automatic exemption from the Kingdom’s 16% Vat and 10% withholding tax to reach a combined savings of up to 56%.

This aggressive new program comes as a response to increased rebates in the Arab world as well as European countries like Greece, a move that has forced a traditionally welcoming Jordan to up its game rebate-wise.

Only a few months have passed since the announcement, but Jordan has already seen an “overwhelmingly” positive response, according to the Royal Film Commission’s head of production services and communications Bashar Abu-Nuwar. Speaking with Variety, the exec says they have “many more projects in the pipeline than anticipated,” including projects that have recently shot in the…