The Chamber of Commerce is urging the government and the Malta Film Commission to be more transparent on expenditure and return on investment as “it is not clear where the monies are going and who is gaining what”.

The Malta Independent asked the Chamber for a reaction following a story published in the Sunday Times of Malta, which revealed that Maltese taxpayers will be paying €46.7m to the film company producing the Gladiator sequel. The rebate is part of a cash scheme that promises productions up to 40% cash back if they film in Malta.

“The Malta Chamber believes that government and the Malta Film Commission need to be more open on both the spend and the ROI (return on investment), to ensure full transparency, full accountability and a level playing field among all the players in the industry,” the Chamber said in its reply.

When asked by The Malta Independent on the €46.7m rebate, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo defended the scheme and said that the funds are not being taken from other sectors. Minister Bartolo was also asked by The Malta Independent where the funds are coming from and who approved this large sum.

The minister claimed what he said was a "campaign of misinformation" on the cash rebates, describing it as a “systemic attack on the film industry". He said that it would be a mistake "to continue with this attack on the industry which today employs hundreds, if not thousands, of Maltese people, so we must ensure that the good ripple effect that this industry is leaving continues."

In its comments to this newspaper, the Chamber said that “if developed properly”, the film industry “can be a very important sector for the Maltese Islands as it spills over and engages multiple other industries and services professionals”.

The Chamber also said that it has always emphasised that the film industry should be considered as a niche sector and that “one also needs to keep in mind that there is a lot of international competition”, adding that incentives used to attract foreign productions need to “give a good ROI to Malta, provided that Maltese businesses are benefitting as well”.

Times of Malta has also revealed how films and TV series filmed in Malta had received €143m in state aid over the course of the last five years.

In another development, and in efforts to have a more transparent breakdown of this state aid expenditure, three Nationalist Party members on the Public Accounts Committee, together with the spokesman for Historical Heritage, Arts and Culture, presented a formal request to the Auditor General to investigate the expenditure of €136,793,533 from public funds by the Malta Film Commission between 17 September 2018 and 8 August of this year.

In a statement, the PN said that there are a number of Maltese people and societies in this sector that depend on this type of aid from public funds, both to strengthen Maltese culture and also to improve resources for the development of local talent.

“Therefore, it is in the public interest to ensure that this type of public spending is not depriving, discriminating and/or holding back in any way compared to the spending that is being done to accommodate foreign companies.”