Long a popular vacation destination, the Dominican Republic is fast becoming a popular production
choice as well, thanks to its tropical scenery and competitive tax breaks.
It offers a 25% transferable tax credit on all above- and below-the- line-eligible expenditures for feature
films, tele pics, music videos, miniseries and TV series with a minimum spend of $500,000 – and there
is no cap.
Other perks: The country eliminates the 16% value-added tax on eligible production-related expenditures
and is temporarily allowing the duty-free importation of production-related goods and equipment.
Recent productions include: “The Truth” with Andy Garcia, shot in December, and the first film to take
advantage of the fiscal incentives; French film “Affaires estrangers Cuba,” shot in January; season 22 of
“Road Rules Challenge” for MTV; season two of “Love in the Wild” for NBC; and episodes of E!’s “Keeping
up With the Kardashians,” which shot last March in Casa de Campo.
Upcoming productions include “Cabin Fever 3” and South Korean production “Way Back Home.”
“We have come some way in a year’s time,” says film commissioner Ellis Perez. “For the last 25 years
we have been filming an average of two to three films per year. In 2012 we had projected 12 to 15. At
present, we are on course to fulfilling that objective with Canadian, American, French, Spanish and
Dominican films.”
Plus, the country’s new Indomina/Pinewood Studios complex is building a large water tank, which should
be ready in September, and its first soundstage, set to open in January. Predicts Perez: “Next year should
be a phenomenal year for filming in the Dominican Republic.”