Earlier today, California governor Jerry Brown signed a measure to more than triple the tax credits to film producers, increasing the annual credits to $330 million from a previous $100 million, and raising California's film tax credit rank to second in the nation in annual size, behind only New York. Hollywood has long been a staple of California's economy, and by tripling the film tax credit in California, Brown hopes to triple the incentive for the state to retain film and television production. The opponents of this plan had qualms with the state government using taxpayer money in order to retain film companies that might leave anyway, but Brown is confident in the new credits, stating today at the signing event in Hollywood that “hopefully we will create thousands and tens of thousands of jobs. That’s what we’re investing in. Yes, it’s taxpayers’ money, but it’s taxpayers’ money to build the jobs of the future.”
Whether or not that will hold true is yet to be seen. Los Angeles, which holds 162,000 film industry employees, has taken a hit in recent years, thanks to more lucrative incentives offered in other states. While Los Angeles is still the US bastion of film production, recent years have seen many film producers leave to other more subsidized states, and many vendors close their doors. The vast majority of big-budget films now film in cities like Atlanta and Vancouver, where incentives have been far more lucrative in recent years. Long the second biggest center of production, New York has seen a strong upsurge in recent years in features, TV series and digital production thanks to their aggressive and nimble $420 million film tax credit program. Brown clearly hopes to emulate New York's success, but it may be too late.
- Spencer Smith
Sources
http://deadline.com/2014/09/california-film-tv-tax-credit-bill-signed-jerry-brown-hollywood-836075/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-18/california-s-brown-signs-bill-to-triple-film-tax-credits.html
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