While it might be interesting to see movie and television crews filming around your city, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation wants you to know you're paying for it.

The province has had a film tax credit in place for several years, designed as an incentive to bring movie and TV productions here. But provincial reports show that the province actually loses more than $8,000 for each job the credit creates.

CTF director Lee Harding says building an industry is one thing, but he says it doesn't work in this context. "We can't subsidize art to say we'll eventually make money on it," he insists. "These film tax credits and other avenues are so generous the province is taking a loss every time a job is created. The bigger this gets, the less the return."

He notes in 2003/2004 the total economic impact generated by the credit was a loss of $1.6 million.