What’s mightier than a Power Ranger? Tax breaks. Or so seems to be the reason that the Power Rangers TV series, which has been filming in New Zealand for the past 20 years because of its relatively low cost, will be made somewhere else for its next and 31st season.
The new location hasn’t been disclosed, nor has Hasbro explained why the series’ production is being moved. The speculation is that the show is being moved because of New Zealand’s tax breaks, which currently sit at a paltry 20 percent, with five more potentially available. This, by the way, is sarcasm, which President of the Screen Production and Development Association Irene Gardiner presumably wasn’t using when she said, according to 1news.co.nz, “That’s one of the nervous things for our producers who work on international productions, is maybe we’re not quite competitive as we might be in the world at 20-25 percent.”
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Whatever the reason for the departure, it’s decidedly not good news for the country; 1news.co.nz reports that Power Rangers has brought $340 million into the New Zealand economy (or a bit over $200 million U.S.) over the past two decades. The final season filmed in NZ, titled Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury, is set to debut sometime later this year on Netflix.
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