UK Chancellor Gordon Brown may announce tax break details in his Budget speech at 12.30pm (GMT) this afternoon.

The UK film industry was cheered in December by an announcement about new film tax laws and they are hoping to have a clearer picture today.

There is, however, no guarantee it will even be on the agenda in a vital strategic Budget for Brown, who hopes to replace Prime Minister Tony Blair before the next election.

The benefits announced last year were higher than expected (net 20% for low-budget films and 16% for higher-budget films) although there were more restrictions - the new tax credit will be based only on UK spend, not a film's entire budget as under the current rules, and only if it passes the new Cultural Test.

Film bodies have said that to avoid any rocky transition period or production hiatus, more details would be needed on the new film tax credit, including the exact definition of UK spend. That may come today.

A new twist in the saga came with the publication of a pre-Budget report from the influential Institute of DIrectors (IoD) which called for all tax relief to be scrapped.

The IoD proposed that the Chancellor end 10 business tax reliefs, including the support received by the film industry.

Follow any developments at Screendaily.